M’Elk-y turns

AvCan Vancouver Island , Wednesday 27th March, 2024 2:50PM

Like usual, we began our day staging in the rain, this time Elk Mountain was our objective. The precipitation turned to snow at ~700 meters and became increasingly dry as we ascended. The machines were happy to see fresh snow for the first time in a while, and we transitioned to our skis at ~1300 m. Up top we found up to 15 cm of new snow. In exposed area wind slabs were forming up to 50 cm thick. While we were not able to produce slabs during ski cuts, we were able to trigger size 1 dry loose avalanches. As we descended and the temperature rose, the snow became heavier and we produced a few small isolated slab avalanches. Looks like more snow is on the way tonight and into tomorrow so check the forecast before heading out!