I just wanted to add my voice to the messaging being put out by Avalanche Canada. We are dealing with a very different snowpack in the White Pass compared to what we’ve seen over the last several years.

The crust/facet interface formed by the early December atmospheric river is now buried 90 cm deep and is at a depth primed for human triggering, especially in areas with a thinner snowpack. This layer is widespread up to 1700 m. In snow pit tests, the facets above this crust failed under hard loads and demonstrated propagation potential (CTH21SC, ECTP23).

We accessed the alpine above Fraser by linking smaller, supported terrain features. In hindsight, the terrain margins, even on this ‘safe route,’ were too thin, as evidenced by the spine-tingling whumpfs that occurred whenever we transitioned from thicker to thinner snowpack areas.

A disciplined approach will be critical in managing the hazard posed by this layer in the coming weeks. I’ll be sticking to conservative terrain until I see strong evidence that this layer is becoming less reactive. Even then, I’ll keep this crust in mind as the season progresses. It’s eerily similar to the rain crust that plagued much of BC in 2023, which continued to surprise people well into the spring.