Touchy storm slabs reactive to human triggers. Use small slopes with low consequence to test the bond of the storm snow.
Weather Forecast
Monday: Mostly cloudy / Light, southwest winds / Freezing level sea level.Tuesday: Mostly cloudy / Light, southeast winds / Freezing level sea level.Wednesday: 10-15 cm new snow/ Light to moderate, southwest winds/ Freezing level sea level.
Avalanche Summary
On Saturday, numerous skier triggered avalanches up to size to 2 were reported near Whistler.
Snowpack Summary
50-90 cm of recent storm snow has buried a wide variety of old snow surfaces including stiff wind slab or wind effected snow at upper elevations, sun crust on steep southerly slopes, surface hoar and surface facets in sheltered locations. The mid-January interface (facets) is buried approximately 100-180 cm down. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled (strong). However, there remain a number of facet and crust layers that are currently dormant but will require monitoring with additional loading.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.