Generally favourable avalanche conditions but watch for wind slabs on steep, wind-affected slopes.
Recent winds changed direction from southwest to northwest, creating wind slabs on north-, east- and south-facing slopes at treeline and in the alpine.
Tuesday night: Dry. Winds light northwesterly.
Wednesday: Dry with increasing cloud cover. Winds light southwesterly. Freezing level around 1100 m.
Thursday: Around 5 cm new snow. Winds moderate southwesterly. Freezing level around 1000 m.
Friday: Flurries. Winds moderate southwesterly. Freezing level around 900 m.
A natural size 2 wind slab avalanches was reported on a north aspect at 2000 m on Sunday. A cornice-triggered wind slab was also noted on an east aspect at similar elevation.
In the neighbouring Sea to Sky region, a very large (size 3.5) avalanche occurred on Saturday near Whistler on a steep north face at 2400 m. It is suspected to have failed on a layer of facets on a crust from late November. This very large event demonstrates the ongoing need for caution in aggressive alpine terrain, particularly in areas where deep instabilities remain.
Strong southerly winds during the storm shifted to northerly and created wind slabs on a variety of aspects. The snow surface is wind-affected at treeline and in the alpine. The recent storm snow sits on a rain crust below 1900 m.
In the north part of the region (ie. Goldbridge/Duffey/Hurley), a few deep instabilities exist in the snowpack, including a weak basal facet crust complex. There has not been recent avalanche activity on these layers but they remain a concern and are on our radar.
The south of the region, including the Coquihalla and Manning areas, we currently have no concerns about deeply buried weak layers.
