Avalanche Forecast

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy, light wind, alpine temperatures drop to -8 C.

THURSDAY: Clear in the morning then increasing cloud in the afternoon and light flurries starting in the evening, 30 km/h wind from the southwest, alpine high temperatures around -3 C.

FRIDAY: 10-25 cm of snow, 40-60 km/h wind from the southwest, freezing level climbs to 1600 m, alpine high temperatures around -1 C.

SATURDAY: 15-30 cm of snow then clearing in the afternoon, 30-50 km/h wind from the southwest, freezing level around 1200 m.

A few small (size 1) storm slab avalanches were triggered by skiers and explosives on Wednesday. They were 20-30 cm thick and ran on a hard crust. Small storm slab and wind slab avalanche will continue to be a concern on Thursday, then the arrival of more snow on Friday could produce larger avalanches that run on the recently buried crust.

A return to stormy weather is bringing much needed snow to the Sea to Sky region. 10-30 cm of recent snow is settling at higher elevations, with deeper deposits in wind affected terrain. This new snow has buried a widespread crust layer that could become a problematic sliding surface for avalanches during the next storm.

Typical snowpack depths in the alpine currently range between 50 and 150 cm, depending on the amount of wind affect. Snowpack depths taper quickly with elevation as most treeline terrain is still below the threshold for avalanches.