Dial back your objectives on this stormy day.
Storm slabs have the potential to propagate far and wide due to buried crusts.
Expect reactive deposits of new snow, especially in lee areas where the wind has transported snow into deeper deposits.
These avalanches could fail or step down to buried crusts in the snowpack, creating very large avalanches.
Thursday, natural storm slab activity continued, with size 2 avalanches reported at treeline, as well as one size 1 remotely triggered by riders from ridgetop above the S2S Gondola. Size 1.5 slabs 50 cm deep triggered by riders were also reported in the Whistler Backcountry.
Monday, a very large (size 3) avalanche was triggered by skiers west of Pemberton. It failed on a rain crust buried 50 to 150 cm deep on a wind-loaded north-facing alpine slope.
A stormy Saturday where 20 to 50 cm of snow (greater accumulations in the south) is expected by the end of the day. This snow will be transported by moderate to strong southwesterly winds, building reactive cornices and slabs on lee slopes. The storm snow may be poorly bonded to an underlying crust, buried December 22nd, and could result in wide propagation.
Another buried crust with facets from early December is buried 90 to 160 cm deep at treeline. A layer of surface hoar may also be present in sheltered areas at this same depth. This weak layer could produce very large avalanches like the one described in the avalanche summary.
For an update about local snow conditions check out this blog.
Friday NightCloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.
Saturday
Cloudy with 15 to 35 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.
Sunday
Partly cloudy with trace precipitation. 15 to 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.
MondayCloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 750 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
