Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Tuesday

MONDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with clear periods, isolated flurries with trace to 5 cm accumulation. Alpine temperatures near -19C. Ridgetop winds moderate from the east.TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries, 5-10 cm accumulation. Alpine temperature near -12C. Ridgetop winds moderate from the east.WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperatures near -10C. Ridgetop winds light from the southwest.THURSDAY: Sunny with cloudy periods, flurries starting later in the day. Alpine temperature near -8C, freezing level rising to 600 m. Ridgetop winds moderate from the south-southeast.

Small pockets of wind slab have been reactive to skier traffic in steep and immediate lee features. Of note is a MIN from the Whistler backcounty reporting wind slabs at lower elevations and in more sheltered terrain than usual (see the MIN here).On Sunday, explosives work on cornices failed to initiate any wind slabs on the slopes below. Otherwise, no new natural avalanches have been observed recently.

A dusting of snow fell on variable wind-pressed, wind-sculpted, exposed crust and windslab surfaces cover the alpine and higher treeline elevations. The recent extreme wind event deposited snow lower in start zones than usual and developed wind slabs in more protected areas and at lower elevations.Due to scouring and wind-loading, anywhere from 0-80 cm of this wind-affected snow sits on a crust on all aspects below 2000m and solar aspects into the alpine. Current cold temperatures are promoting surface faceting and are breaking down the buried crust above 1800m. In isolated and sheltered terrain at treeline and below, a layer of weak feathery surface hoar or sugary facets may be identified, but with little reactivity. The remainder of the snowpack is generally well-settled.