Alpine: Considerable
Treeline: Considerable
Below Treeline: Moderate
Travel Advisory: We have received another 8cm overnight which arrived with strong winds and plenty of loading in alpine and treeline start zones. This is sitting on various storm snow layers which seem to be bonding well. The Dec. 4th rain crust is buried anywhere from 60-150cm deep on some lee slopes, but it has still been very much in evidence on some ridgelines and windward slopes.
Avalanche Activity: Ski cutting and explosive testing carried out throughout the week produced numerous avalanches mostly in the Size 1 range in the storm snow. Several anomalies stepped down to the Dec. 4 crust and facet layer that is buried up to 150cm below the surface. This layer has produced several times in the past week. Expect last night’s new wind transported snow to be reactive to ski testing.
Snowpack: The Dec. 4 th raincrust is gradually getting buried deeper, but can still be found on the surface in some wind-affected terrain. Depending on aspect and elevation there is a variety of layers sitting above the crust, including lower density storm snow and facetted crystals. These layers can be expected to be a persistent weakness in some areas for some time to come. Shallow rocky terrain has a weak and facetted snowpack and may produce deeper slab avalanches with sufficient loading. The upper snowpack is various layers of storm and wind transported snow that seems to be bonding well.
Weather: Trace amounts of snow today with moderate southerly winds and cold temperatures before another front arrives tomorrow morning. This front will bring increasing winds and 10-20cm of snow.
Watch for winch cats and snowmobile
traffic if you re-enter the ski area after operating hours. Call 604-938-7676
or surf to avalanche.ca or whistlerblackcomb.com for more information.
– Blackcomb Snow Safety
