Really good riding has been reported in this region. Avalanche conditions are favourable provided you carefully assess exposed, wind-affected slopes.
Hard wind slabs in consistently windy locations near ridgelines where the slabs grade from thin to thick are the biggest danger under current conditions. Avalanches could also occur on the sides of cross-loaded gullies.
Friday night: Cloudy. Maybe a few flurries. Temperatures around -14C. Light northwesterly winds.
Saturday: Flurries with no significant accumulation. Light or moderate westerly winds. Temperatures around -12C.
Sunday: 2-5 cm new snow with light southwesterly winds. Temperatures around -12C.
Monday: Flurries. Moderate southwesterly winds. Temperatures around -8C.
Surprisingly little avalanche activity was noted following the storm from the start of this week, except for the paths above the highway south of Carcross.
Triggering an avalanche is getting hard under the current conditions, but the most likely terrain where one could be is wind-affected slopes in the alpine.
Wind slabs are mostly several days old and are becoming difficult to trigger. In most locations the surface snow is well bonded, the exception being high alpine ridges that have remained windy where hard slabs might grade from thin to thick. There is reported to be excellent powder and riding in more wind protected / sheltered areas.
Snow depths at White Pass are around 160 cm at our wind protected Fraser study plot. Deeper locations (higher terrain west of the highway) have more than 200 cm, while on the east of the highway depths are around 185 cm. It's reasonable to expect a thin snowpack composed mainly of sugary facets in the Wheaton Valley, and thinner wind-scoured alpine areas.
