Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Cold and clear for a few days. The next weather system arrives Saturday. WEDNESDAY: Sunny. Light northeasterly winds (15-25Km/hr). Freezing level at valley bottom. Alpine high temperatures near -12 Celcius.THURSDAY: Sunny. Light westerly winds 10-15 Km/hr. Freezing level at valley bottom. Alpine high temperatures around -10 Celcius. FRIDAY: Sunny with clouds in the afternoon. Lightly southwesterly winds 10-15 Km/hr. Freezing level at valley bottom. Alpine high temperatures to -8 Celcius.

A widespread soft slab cycle (to Size 1.5) was triggered on northerly aspects with explosives and skier traffic on Monday. No new natural avalanches were observed.

Lingering soft slabs and wind slabs are the primary weaknesses of concern in the snowpack. New snow from Sunday-Monday totalled 18 cm near Whistler while 25-35 cm fell in the upper Callaghan / Powder mountain area - resulting in widespread touchy soft slabs. Winds shifted Tuesday to classic outflow (northerly) patterns with STRONG winds at ridge top This pattern resulted in 'reverse loading' of southerly slopes and has created wind slabs. Please note that with the colder temperatures the snowpack will be slower than usual to heal - give it some time to settle before considering bigger lines. Deeper in the snowpack, the new snow from Sunday night and also last Friday is bonding fairly well to a variable surface consisting of a mix of soft wind slabs, hard wind slabs, sastrugi, faceted snow, and even some surface hoar. Snowpack layers below this interface are generally well bonded, and the lower snowpack is solid.