Check for wind effect before committing to a big line. Isolated pockets of wind slab around ridgelines and in extreme terrain may react to a human trigger.
Continue to practice good travel habits while danger is low. An incoming storm will raise danger ratings for Sunday.
Strong southwest winds will continue to build wind slabs where loose snow is available for transport.
These isolated pockets of at higher elevations may be reactive to human triggers in lee terrain near ridge crest or in extreme terrain.
Keep up good travel habits when moving through avalanche terrain, even when danger is rated as low.
Finally we see a return of an active weather pattern with cooler temperatures and moderate snowfall on Sunday.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Increasing cloud cover, with moderate to strong southwest winds. Freezing levels around 800 m. Isolated flurries possible.
SATURDAY: Cloudy, with moderate southwest winds. Freezing levels below 1000 m. Alpine high of -2. Scattered flurries possible.
SUNDAY: Snowfall begins Saturday evening, delivering around 10cm by Sunday morning, and an additional 10-30 cm by Sunday afternoon. Freezing levels remain below 1000 m. Winds remain strong from the southwest.
MONDAY: Possible flurries with mostly cloudy skies. Moderate westerly winds. Alpine high of -8. Freezing levels sit below 800 m.
No new avalanches have been reported.
Explosive control work near Whistler on Tuesday produced a cornice fall that triggered a size 2.5 deep persistent slab on the weak facetted crystals above the early December crust. The slab was triggered mid slope, 60-130cm deep. This indicates that while the weak layer is unlikely to be affected by skiers and riders, it is still triggerable by very large loads.
A thick melt freeze crust sits on the surface on all aspects up to approximately 2300 m. Sunny alpine slopes may have a thin melt freeze crust on the surface, from solar affect.
High alpine elevations still hold pockets of dry snow. Moderate winds have redistributed this into wind slabs on north through east facing slopes.
The early December crust/facet layer can be found around 100-200 cm deep, most prominent between 1700 and 2100 m. This layer showed no reactivity from the warming event last weekend and is currently classified as dormant. Large loads may still be able to trigger avalanches on this layer.
