New snow and moderate winds are building fresh wind slabs.
With continued loading and warming temperatures, it is a good time to give cornices a wide berth.
Up to 20 cm of new snow arrived in the last storm. Be careful transitioning into wind-loaded areas where you may find deeper deposits or where the new snow overlies a crust below.
On Wednesday, explosive work produced several size 1 to 2 storm slab avalanches in the Whistler area as well as a couple size 2 cornice avalanches.
On Tuesday, explosive work produced several size 2 cornice avalanches in the Whistler area.
On Monday, several large (size 2) natural avalanches were observed in wind-loaded north-facing terrain in the alpine. Read the full report here.
Up to 20 cm of recent snow that arrived with strong southerly winds has been redistributed into deeper deposits in wind-loaded areas. This new snow overlies a melt-freeze crust on solar aspects and previously wind-affected surfaces at higher elevations.
30 to 60 cm of storm snow from the past week may be sitting on a layer of surface hoar, facets or a crust. There has been no reactivity on these layers recently.
Another weak layer consisting of a crust with facets from early February is buried 50 to 100+ cm deep. There has been no reactivity on this layer in tests or in avalanches recently.
The remaining snowpack appears to be well settled and bonded.
Thursday Night
Cloudy. 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
Friday
Cloudy. 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1100 m.
Saturday
Cloudy. 5 to 10 mm of precipitation. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 15 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
