Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Thursday Night: Clear, light to moderate northeast wind, alpine temperature -12 C.

Friday: Clear, light to moderate northeast wind, alpine high -8 C.

Saturday: Sunny with cloudy periods, light south wind, alpine high -4 C.

Sunday: Mix of sun and cloud, light southwest wind gusting to moderate, alpine high -4 C.

A recent MIN post from the Whistler side country reports whumpfing on the uptrack and pockets of wind slab reactive to skier traffic. Ridge tops and slopes where the wind has deposited blowing snow are places where avalanches could most likely be triggered right now. Early season avalanches can most easily propagate and run in areas where the ground is smooth, such as on glaciers, rock slabs, scree slopes, or grassy slopes.

Observations are limited this time of year, so there is a fair bit of uncertainty about the extent of current avalanche activity. If you see anything while out in the field, please consider sharing that information with us and fellow recreationists via the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Strong winds from the northeast have redistributed snow in the alpine, stripping it away from north aspects to expose patches of rain crust or bare ground, and loading south to west terrain features. A photo from a recent MIN report illustrates this variable snow coverage near treeline in the Whistler sidecountry. Snow depths up to 150 cm have been observed above 2000 m, tapering to 50 cm near treeline, with no snow below 1600m.