YESTERDAY:
2240 meters -4, Winds were 95-130 KPH E--Horstman Hut
1860 meters -3, Winds were 30-50 KPH SE --Rendezvous
1560 meters -3, 14 cm in 12 Hrs, 16 cm in 24 Hrs, Base 158 cm--Catskinner
FORECAST:
Warm front and trailing cold front will push through this am with steady light-moderate precip in a South Westerly flow aloft. The FL will hover in the 1000 meter range, possibly going to 1500 meters with strong winds. Precip will ease later this afternoon drying out into Early Tuesday am when another active front brings light to moderate precip to the area. A broad trough will bring mostly overcast skies for Wednesday with periods of light precip. A weak short lived ridge builds for Thursday with unsettled weather. A series of fronts will push through Friday -Tuesday with Monday being a significant storm day. Guesstimates: 18-22 cm by Tuesday am, 30-40 cm by Wednesday am, 0 cm by Thursday am, 12-16 cm by Friday am.
AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

From Sea to Sky Avalanche Advisory:
Avalanche Summary
A large, natural storm slab avalanche cycle size 3-4 occurred near Pemberton over the weekend. Natural and explosive triggered storm slabs size 1-2 were reported elsewhere. This MIN report from Friday illustrates the active avalanche conditions during this storm.
Explosive triggered persistent slab avalanches size 2-2.5 were reported Sunday. Several large natural and human triggered persistent slab avalanches occurred early last week:
- There was a fatal avalanche in the South Coast Inland region (near the Sea to Sky boundary) north of Pemberton in the Railroad Pass area last Monday that resulted in two fatalities. It was reported to be a size 2 persistent slab avalanche on a west aspect, around 1650 m. The RCMP press release can be viewed here, and the Avalanche Canada report can be found here.
- A size 2.5 avalanche was triggered on Monday by a skier on Rainbow Mountain, which resulted in a full burial and, thankfully, a successful rescue. The avalanche failed on a 60 cm deep crust and facet layer on a northeast aspect around 1800 m.
- A natural size 3 persistent slab avalanche was reported on Mount MacBeth on Monday, check out this MIN report for details of this observation.
These avalanches highlight the ongoing potential to trigger persistent weak layers in the snowpack.
Snowpack Summary
10-30 cm of new snow between Sunday night and Monday afternoon and strong southwest wind, continue to build widespread storm slabs. Recent storm totals are well over 100 cm.
The snowpack is currently quite complex. The layer of greatest concern is a melt-freeze crust from early December, found around 100-200 cm deep in the snowpack. This crust may have surface hoar or sugary faceted grains sitting above it. There have been several recent large natural and human triggered avalanches on this layer and new snow loads as well as large loads from storm slab avalanches have potential to trigger these layers.
INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:
Lots of ribs out there after Saturday's Storm. Greg Dixon PicLOCAL AVALANCHE CANADA MIN REPORTS:
Chief Pascal: Jan 3, 2021
Rapid Settlement at Brandywine Trees: Jan 3, 2021
VIDEOS:
Powder Picker Jan 3, 2021: David Jones
Snow Immersion Suffocation and Tree Wells: SIS
Spicy Snowpack: Montana
ARTICLES:
Snow Bikers killed in BC avalanche remembered as passionate adventurers: Global News
Watch Out For Tree Wells: Adventure Smart
Fall into sinkhole near Red Heather Hut a winter adventure warning: Squamish Chief
Highway 1 reopened after avalanche mitigation: Rogers Pass
Watch Top Skier get hit by avalanche and Talk Risk: GRIPPED
Get smart about Backcountry Skiing: Tamsin Venn
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