Warm wet conditions are in store towards the end of the week. In the meantime if you're venturing up high, double check steep lines for lingering wind slabs and give cornices a wide berth.
A modest supply of new snow has fueled the continued formation of cornices and thin but potentially reactive wind slabs on a variety of aspects.
Tuesday night: Mostly cloudy. Freezing level 700 m. Light southwest ridgetop wind.
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. Freezing level rising to 1300 m. Moderate to strong southerly wind.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, precip starting in the afternoon, 5-10 mm falling as rain at lower elevations. Freezing level 1500 m. Strong southerly wind.
Friday: 30-40mm of precip, falling as rain at lower elevations, with the snow line creeping down through the day as freezing level drops from 1500 m to 1000m. Strong southwesterly wind.
This MIN from Sky Pilot on Sunday describes cornice debris around 1600 m. No reports of avalanche activity over the crust since last Thursday when skier triggered storm slab avalanches size 1-2 were reported on all aspects.
30-40 cm of snow sits on top of a hard rain crust that exists all the way to the tops of the North Shore mountains. Reports indicate that the snow is adhering well to the crust. Upper elevation snow is wind affected as a modest but steady supply of new snow has fueled the continued formation of wind slabs and cornices recently.
The snowpack below the rain crust is well settled and strong in most areas.
Watch North Shore Rescue's snowpack update from Friday here.
