Avalanche Forecast

Moderate

Tuesday several explosive-triggered avalanches sizes 1.5 to 2 occurred near Whistler.

On Monday a very large (size 3) avalanche was triggered by skiers west of Pemberton. It failed on a rain crust buried 50 to 150 cm deep on a wind-loaded north-facing alpine slope. Several explosive, natural, and human-triggered avalanches were also reported across the region, up to size 2.5.

Widespread avalanche activity is expected to continue, throughout this storm cycle.

Up to 70 cm of storm snow has fallen since Saturday in some alpine areas. Much of this snow fell as rain at lower elevations.

A further 20 to 50 cm accompanied by strong to extreme southerly winds is expected Wednesday night through Thursday. This will likely build touchy cornices and form deep and reactive slabs on lee northerly slopes, and scour windward southerly slopes.Additionally, the storm snow may be poorly bonded to an underlying crust, and could result in very large avalanches like the one described in the avalanche summary.

Another buried crust with facets from early December is buried 90 to 160 cm deep at treeline. A layer of surface hoar may also be present in sheltered areas at this same depth.

Wednesday NightCloudy with 10 to 25 cm of snow. 70 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with 10 to 25 cm of snow. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

FridayCloudy. 20 km/h southeastridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 800 m.

Saturday

Cloudy with 15 to 30 cm of snow. 55 to 65 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
• As the storm slab problem worsens, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.
• Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to a buried crust.