Avalanche Forecast

A cool northwest flow starts in the wake of the Sunday night storm.

SUNDAY NIGHT: The trailing end of the storm delivers up to 15 cm around Whistler and up to 30 cm further south and west, 40-60 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures drop to -8 C.

MONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, winds ease and shift to the northwest in the morning with some moderate gusts, freezing level climbing to 1200 m with treeline temperatures around -5 C.

TUESDAY: Mix of sun and cloudy, light southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -6 C.

WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with scattered flurries bringing 5-10 cm of snow, 30-50 km/h southwest wind, freezing level climbing to 1400 m with treeline temperatures around -3 C.

Storm slabs were actively growing throughout the day on Sunday and will continue to grow overnight. While we do not yet have any field reports at the time of publishing, it is likely some of these slabs were becoming reactive later in the day. Some natural avalanche activity is possible overnight, but then as the weather clears on Monday the main concern will be human triggered slabs in the top 20-40 cm of snow.

On Saturday there were a few reports of small size 1 storm slab avalanches from the previous storm as well as some large explosive triggered cornice falls.

Sunday's storm will deliver 15 cm of fresh snow around Whistler and up to 40 cm further west and south. Strong southwest wind will form extra deep deposits at upper elevations. This will bring recent storm totals to 40-80 cm, which sits above a widespread melt-freeze crust (except on high elevation northerly aspects). Recent observations suggest the snow has bonded well to these old interfaces. The lower snowpack is well bonded, although a spotty early season facet layer deep in the snowpack could return as a problem later in the season.

Remember that cornices along ridgelines are large at this time of year and always have the possibility of failing naturally or from the weight of a human.

• Use careful route-finding and stick to moderate slope angles with low consequences.
• Avoid freshly wind loaded terrain features.
• Don't be too cavalier with decision making, storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
• If you are increasing your exposure to avalanche terrain, do it gradually as you gather information.
• Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.