Whoa, team. We need to talk about what went down at Whistler Blackcomb this past Sunday, January 11. It is not every day you hear about in-bounds slides, let alone two in the same afternoon.
Mother Nature is feeling a little spicy right now, and she definitely made her presence known on the Blackcomb side of the mountain.
The Incident Report
Here is the breakdown. Two separate avalanches popped off in expert-rated terrain.
The first incident went down in the Bushrat area. Three guests were involved. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.
Shortly after, a second slide triggered over in Sapphire Bowl. If you have ridden Sapphire, you know it is serious terrain—steep, gnarly, and absolutely sick when the conditions are right. Three more guests were involved in this one. One rider required a rescue assist to get out, but here is the best news I have heard all week: Zero injuries reported.
Everyone rode away clean. That is a massive win.
The Context
So, why is the snowpack acting up? It is getting warm out there, folks. We are seeing rising temperatures across the PNW, and the snowpack is reacting.
Avalanche Canada has been sounding the alarm for the Sea-to-Sky region, warning about elevated hazards due to the warming weather. When the temp creeps up, that snow gets heavy and less stable.
Whistler Blackcomb is an absolute beast of a mountain—it scores a 69.1/100 on ShredIndex for a reason—but with that much complex, expert terrain, things can change fast.
Jake's Take
Look, ski patrol works harder than anyone on the mountain to keep us safe. They are absolute legends. But snow is snow. Even in-bounds, when you are riding experts-only steep terrain during a warming cycle, variable conditions are real.
Keep your head on a swivel. Ride with a buddy. And listen to the closures. If patrol drops a rope, it is for a reason.
Stoked everyone is safe. Let's keep it that way.
Stay safe and keep shredding.
Source: Powder
