Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Sea To Sky, Sky Pilot, Spearhead, Tantalus.
Dangerous avalanche conditions remain as new snow settles and the snowpack adjusts to the new load. Human-triggering potential persists as natural avalanche activity tapers off.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
On Tuesday, operators in the area reported numerous storm slab avalanches, triggered by explosives, up to size 3.
On Saturday, several natural persistent slab avalanches were reported to size 3 in the Whistler backcountry. These avalanches primarily occurred on northerly aspects in the alpine.
Snowpack Summary
30 to 50 cm of storm snow overlies wind-affected surface in exposed areas and in sheltered areas a weak layer of surface hoar.
A melt-freeze crust is found down 60 to 80 cm and becomes thin and variable above 1900 m.
Another crust from early Dec is down 80-150 cm. A few large avalanches observed in the region on January 6 are suspected to have failed on this layer.
Snowpack depths are 120-230 cm around treeline and decrease rapidly below.
Weather Summary
Tuesday Night
Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, 2 to 6 cm of snow. Northwest ridgetop winds 10 to 25 km/h. Treeline temperature -9 °C.
Wednesday
Mainly sunny. Northerly valley bottom outflow wind 25 to 40 km/h and northwest ridgetop winds 10 to 20 km/h. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
Thursday
Mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries, trace amounts of snow. Southwest ridgetop winds 10 to 40 km/h. Treeline temperatures drop through the day to -17 °C.
Friday
Sunny skies. Northwest ridgetop winds 20 to 50 km/h. Treeline temperatures -25 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Give the new snow time to settle and stabilize before pushing into bigger terrain.
- Avoid freshly wind loaded features, especially near ridge crests, roll-overs and in steep terrain.
- Be aware of the potential for surprisingly large avalanches due to deeply buried weak layers.
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
+30 cm of storm snow and winds have built reactive storm slabs. Investigate the bond of new snow to surfaces below before committing to terrain. Be cautious in lee features where winds have redistributed snow into deep cohesive pockets.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 3
Persistent Slabs
A weak layer down 80 to 150 cm is suspected to have been the culprit of recent large avalanches in the region. This layer may take a few days to adjust to the new snow load. Avoid thin, shallow areas where triggering is more likely.
Aspects: North, North East, East, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 3.5