Whistler Creek

We observed two significant slab avalanches from the last 24 hours. The first was a skier remote size 2.5 in a NW gully of Marmot Mountain. It looked like the skier dropped in from the peak, triggered the gully from above, and then turned into an alternate gully to ski out. The slide went to valley bottom and sympathetically triggered a smaller but significant convex roll above a terrain trap. The crown depth appeared to range from 50-100 cm, start zone incline estimated at 35 degrees, elevation roughly 2400 m. The second significant observation was a natural size 1 on an east aspect, potentially cornice triggered. Depth was roughly 50 cm, width 40 m and length 80 m. This slid in steep terrain, likely closer to 40 degrees. In our one snow pit of the day, we discovered decomposing surface hoar down 27 cm. Polar aspects had this layer much better preserved than those with solar exposure (where we observed grain forms). Something to watch out for in this region. Additionally, surface forms today included surface hoar widespread at all elevations. Something to keep in mind in the future.