Sea To Sky

Have a safe and fun new year!

Good

Monday night and Tuesday: Mild weather continues with traces of snow expected on the Northern part of the region and then letting place to a sunny warm day with light winds from the East and freezing level rising to 1200 m. in the afternoon. Wednesday: A weak ridge of high pressure builds bringing dry conditions, light Southerly winds and again, freezing levels raising to 1600 m. in the afternoon.Thursday: Similar weather pattern is expected for Thursday.

Cornice fall have triggered  a couple large size avalanches (2.5 and 3) in the Northern part of the region that would have run on the November 5th crust/facet layer. These slabs released on steep Northerly aspects. Multiples small loose wet avalanches were also observed on sun exposed slopes. 

Some relatively thin windslabs exist on lee side of ridge top and on cross loaded features. Even though they are continuing to bond, these windslabs have been triggered by skiers recently and could still be, especially with the warmth and solar radiation forecasted in the afternoon. In sheltered areas, it is still possible to find low density snow at the surface in the alpine and below.  The South facing aspects are expected to become moist at the surface in the afternoon and create a crust when cooled. No significant shears were obtained when the top or mid snowpack was tested. Near the base of the snowpack, a crust/facet layer is now unlikely to be triggered. However, professionals are still mindful of thin snowpack trigger areas or large loads (like a large cornice) which could wake it up again, leading to a very large avalanche.