Temperatures are continually rising throughout the weekend. This will be the first significant change for over a month. This warming trend has the potential to trigger the first spring avalanche cycle
Weather Forecast
Friday will be sun and cloud, no precipitation, Alpine high of -7 C, and 15-35km/hr West winds. Saturday will be clouds with sunny periods and flurries, trace precipitation, low -10 high -5, light West winds, and freezing level 1600m.
Snowpack Summary
Windslabs located in the alp and TL on N to E aspects. The snowpack is relatively strong through most of the region especially in deep snowpack areas. Shallow areas are weak, and will morph quickly to moist 'spring like' slab conditions from the surface down. With the persistent basal weakness, this could fail with the full depth of the snowpack.
Avalanche Summary
On March 12th, a group of skiers triggered a wind slab in the backcountry behind Marmot Basin in Whistler creek locally known as Ed's Alley. It was on a North Alpine Aspect with shallow snowpack, scree ground, and severely wind affected.Several large wind slab avalanches on alpine NE aspects ran Monday after a weak storm.
Confidence
Freezing levels are uncertain on Sunday
Problems
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.