Mild alpine temperatures and clear skies will result in low avalanche danger at all elevations this weekend.
Weather Forecast
Clear skies with warm air in the alpine on Saturday. Inversion continuing on Sunday, but not as strong as Saturday. Cloud and southeast wind building Sunday evening. 5-10 cm of new snow by Monday morning with the freezing level at around 1000 metres.
Avalanche Summary
Solar induced loose snow avalanches have released naturally up to size 1.5 in may areas, and one south aspect size 2.0 avalanche was reported from the Wedge on Thursday. Explosives control late in the day on Thursday, released some "sizeable chunks" of cornice that propagated the storm snow on the slope below; size not reported. Some skier controlled pockets of wind slab 20-40 cm deep and up to size 1.0 were also reported on Thursday in the Whistler area.
Snowpack Summary
A new layer of surface hoar and near surface facetting has developed, and we will need to track it's distribution before the next snow arrives. The last few days of clear skies, solar radiation, and warm air trapped at higher elevations has settled the recent storm snow. Southerly aspects have seen enough sun and warmth to release loose moist or wet avalanches in steep terrain, and new melt-freeze crusts may have formed overnight when the temperatures dropped below freezing. Some wind transported snow continues to form thin wind slabs on various aspects.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.