Avalanche Forecast

We are aware of an avalanche incident reported near Pemberton earlier today. At this time, no additional details are available.

On Sunday a size 2 wind slab and cornice avalanches were triggered with explosives near Whistler. A rider also accidentally triggered a small size 1 slab.

Avalanche activity is expected to continue, especially in alpine areas where new snow has been transported by wind into reactive deposits.

Overnight Sunday, 10 to 20 cm of snow fell, with rain below treeline, bringing the total since Saturday to up to 60 cm in some alpine areas. By Tuesday evening, another 15 to 30 cm is expected above 1500 m, accompanied by rain below treeline.

Strong southerly winds are expected to form deeper and more reactive slabs on north-facing slopes.

A crust or moist surface snow is expected at lower elevations.

A significant crust with facets from early December is buried 80 to 140 cm deep at treeline. Additionally, a layer of surface hoar may be present in sheltered areas at this same depth.

The lower snowpack is well-settled with no layers of concern.

For more details on recent snow conditions click here.

Monday NightCloudy with 10 to 20 cm, falling as snow above 1400 m. 80 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C.

TuesdayCloudy with 3 to 10 cm of snow above 900 m. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 15 to 35 cm, falling as snow above 700 m. 80 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

Thursday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm, falling as snow above 800 m. 30 to 40 km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• As the storm slab problem worsens, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.
• Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.
• Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.