East Peak - Big White

The recent "atmospheric river" dumped 50-60cm of new snow over the Big White backcountry. The snowpack was recorded 115cm at the pit we dug. The strong winds over the weekend from the southwest affected windward and alpine slopes, creating poor skiing conditions in these areas. Winds subsided Sunday and clouds lifted. We expect this snow to have loaded the bowl and backside. Glades along the ridgeline often used for skin track up from the bowl were great for skiing. Avoided travelling too far skiers-right as rocks were prominent. Watch for cornices developed above the bowl... It is a great time to ride simple terrain and avoid steep slopes. Exercise extreme caution early in the season. We made some excellent turns down the skintrack slopes. Signs of settlement were noted in Upper LCM, but in gentle non-wind areas. Avoided skiing out this way incase of Logs Creeks and Mud...

A Class 1 or 2 avalanche was spotted across the bowl on a steeper slope to the North. We didn't dare venturing close, but it was easy enough to distinguish with the visibility. The crown was not wide, but may be the result of terrain or trees. It didn't travel far before being stopped by trees; however, the slab was thick and could have been easily been bigger. The Cliff was blasted all morning and didn't look open to skiers. Wide, thick crowns were seen on nearly all avys triggered in-bounds.

Cornices have developed due to strong winds. Trees at low elevation were bare of snow, warm temperature and strong winds may both be culprits. Overall great visibility for riding.

It seems the recent storm slab rests on a melt-freeze crust @55cm depth from snow surface and consistently failed easily on this plane under compaction tests. Another layer of crust was found @65cm depth from snow surface, with sugary facets between and below. Avalanches may easily step down through facet layers near the bottom of the pack. Sloughing occurred on the surface as we skinned up, suggesting a new layer developed at the surface on top of the storm slab. Warm temperatures and maybe even rain Friday and Saturday could have caused this. It may develop into a weak layer in the future... Forecasts predicted surface hoar layers, but were not noted in the test. Regardless, the crust layer beneath the recent snow is suspect. Steep slopes will be PRIMED for avalanches.