Whistler Snow Conditions Jan 6, 2015

It's been a mixed weather week here in Whistler. We had almost balmy conditions skiing New Years Day with sun and warm temps with a temperature inversion, then got hit with a huge snow storm the past few days, only to end in rain right to the alpine. 

So far this season the high alpine snow has been great, with less then amazing coverage lower down. You could hear the cries of joy from all over Whistler when the storm rolled in, finally bringing some much needed pow. We got 44cm in 48 hours, then sadly the rain started to fall, and warm temps with freezing levels as high as 3200m are expected for the next 4 days. The avalance danger is now rated high in all three zones, similar to other parts of the province. 

This morning Whistler Blackcomb reported 55cm of new snow and 20mm of rain in the past few days. From their avalanche safety page we have this report: "The new storm slab is upside down and will become even more so with the forecast continued rising freezing levels. A surface slab in motion has the potential to dig down deeper into older weak layers resulting in large and destructive avalanche activity. Cornices have grown so stay well back."

Keep an eye on backcountry conditions in Whistler through the Coast Mtn Backountry Videos (the lastest one is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vGaS3BmYho), Whistler Blackcomb's backcountry report on their website, and Avalanche Canada.