Backcountry Update

AS OF TUESDAY, FEB. 28

It’s been a stormy week, with cold temperatures and snow to the valley bottom. Last weekend’s storm brought nearly 60 centimetres to the Sea to Sky region and has been accompanied by strong wind from various directions. Another storm cycle is expected to hit on Thursday, which will bring additional snow (forecasts are calling for up to 20 cm) and wind. Reactive storm slabs, wind slabs, and cornice fall have been the name of the game and will likely persist through the weekend. The weather outlook shows continued cold temperatures, reverse winds from the east, and periods of sunshine.

This may create new avalanche problems in unexpected terrain. Wind slabs could form on opposite slopes, catching you by surprise. Periods of sun may trigger loose dry and loose wet surface avalanches from steeper terrain features. The March sun can weaken and change the snow surface rapidly, even if the air temperature remains cold. Watch out for wind-loaded areas and continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.

It’s also important to remember that this is not a typical coastal snowpack. A persistent slab problem is lingering in areas west of the Sea to Sky highway. A persistent slab problem can catch backcountry recreationists by surprise, because the hazard is not always obvious. Select more conservative terrain and practice good travel techniques, like not having your whole group on a slope and planning your escape route. Larger triggers like cornice falls or smaller surface avalanches may be enough to step down to the deeper layers, initiating very large and destructive slab avalanches.

As always, be sure to track the forecasts and guidance at avalanche.ca to get the most up-to-date information before heading out for the weekend. ■

CONDITIONS MAY VARY AND CAN CHANGE RAPIDLY Check for the most current conditions before heading out into the backcountry. Daily updates for the areas adjacent to Whistler Blackcomb are available at 604-938-7676, or surf to www.whistlerblackcomb.com/mountain-info/ snow-report#backcountry or go to www.avalanche.ca.

Letters To The Editor

Would ‘micro villages’ fit with Pemberton?

This letter was sent to Pemberton’s mayor and council, and shared with Pique.

The rental housing shortage is worsening monthly and local businesses continue to suffer from a lack of staff. The housing crisis and worker shortage are intertwined. We as a community need to act on immediate solutions. I respectfully suggest the mayor and council of the Village of surrounded by hiking trails, fishing holes and several lakes. And, we feel so grateful to have a diverse group of tenants who share their unique gifts and skills with the community.

“In 2015, Terrace, B.C. was facing a rental crisis with zero occupancy. Residents of Terrace were looking for more home rental options as well as attainable home ownership. From this feedback, we developed Canada’s first micro community on 31 private acres of beautiful, wild land skirting the Kalum River.”

Pemberton look to the town of Terrace, B.C. and its Bluegrass Meadows micro village. A quick descriptor from its website (bluegrassmeadows.com): “We currently have 33 rented cabins/tiny homes, soon to be 45, and six tiny home sites with four more under construction, a common building with laundry, a recycling/compost and waste program… and we are excited to have built a community garden in the spring of 2019. The village is

Frankly, this is exactly the kind of forward thinking the Village of Pemberton should be engaging in. Instead of accepting the lack of rental housing as an inevitability of life in the Sea to Sky, and again insisting short-term rentals are not affecting our rental stock; what a change it would be for mayor and council to act decisively and make progressive decisions to improve the lives of those who elected them.