Storm slabs may remain reactive to human triggers in areas where sun or wind has created a cohesive slab. Avoid slopes where the snow feels stiff or slabby.
Weather Forecast
Wednesday: Clear, becoming cloudy mid-day / Light, southerly winds/ Freezing level sea level.Wednesday night: 20-25 cm new snow / Moderate, southwesterly winds/ Freezing level beginning to rise.Thursday: 25-30 cm new snow / Strong, southwesterly winds / Freezing level rising to 1400 m.Friday: Mostly cloudy with flurries / Light, westerly winds / Freezing level 900 m.
Avalanche Summary
On Monday, a natural size 2 and a skier triggered size 1 storm slab avalanche were reported west of Whistler.
Snowpack Summary
40-80 cm of recent storm snow has buried a wide variety of old snow surfaces including stiff wind slab or wind effected snow at upper elevations, sun crust on steep southerly slopes, surface hoar(up to 10 mm) in sheltered locations. In sheltered ares where the recent storm snow is overlying surface hoar(weak, feathery crystals), you may see increased reactivity on this layer as the storm snow begins to settle into a more cohesive slab. The mid-January interface (facets) is buried approximately 100-180 cm down. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled (strong). However, there remain a number of facet and crust layers that are currently dormant but will require monitoring with additional loading.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.