Winter has returned! Be patient and choose mellow terrain. The new snow needs time to settle. Early season hazards are still lurking below the surface.
A large amount of snow is falling on a thin, early season snowpack. This rapid change will increase the likelihood of avalanches, especially where existing snow has smoothed out rough ground surfaces.
On Friday, a few small (size 1) rider triggered storm slab avalanches were reported in the immediate lee of ridgetops.
Expect natural and human triggered avalanches to become more likely on Saturday as storm snow piles up.
Please consider filling out a MIN report if you are out in the backcountry.
20-40 cm of new snow will overlie a variety of surfaces including; a crust on steep south facing slopes in the alpine, a crust with surface hoar above it at treeline and a crust where snow exists below treeline. The above mentioned surface hoar could become a problem as the new storm snow piles up.
In the mid pack, 10 to 20 cm of faceted snow overlies a crust from mid November.
Above about 1600 m, snowpack height ranges from 70 to 140 cm, increasing with elevation.
Friday Night
Cloudy. 10-25 cm of snow expected. Strong southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -5°C.
Saturday
Cloudy. 5-15 cm of snow expected. Moderate Southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -5°C.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 5-15 cm of new snow expected. Strong to extreme southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level 1250-1500 m, possibly as high as 2000 in the south end of the forecast area.
Monday
Cloudy. 5-10 cm of snow and moderate rain expected. Snow more likely further north, rain more likely further south. Strong to extreme southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1500m, as high as 2500 m south of Pemberton.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
