Confidence
Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain on Friday
Weather Forecast
Friday: 8-12cm of snow arriving late in the day and continuing overnight / moderate to strong southwest winds / freezing level at 1200m Saturday: Light snowfall / light and variable winds / freezing level at 1100m Sunday: Trace amounts of snow / moderate southwesterly winds / freezing level at 800m
Avalanche Summary
Isolated very soft slabs to size 1 were reported in the Whistler area on Thursday.
Snowpack Summary
In general the snowpack is now well bonded. Recent light snowfall has buried an assortment of old snow surfaces including crusts, old wind slabs and surface facets. This light snowfall has been redistributed by moderate alpine winds and has formed small wind slabs on lee features. The underlying crusts have formed on all aspects at lower elevations and on steep solar aspects higher up. Surface facets have grown particularly on northern aspects where colder temperatures have persisted and facets may also exist in combination with crusts. The average treeline snowpack depth at is around 240cm.
Problems
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.