25 Nov 2012

Many people were taking advantage of the great weather and snow, touring into the near country. Skier compaction at this time of year helps with stability as the season progresses.

Sign as you leave the temporary ski area boundary.



At 2260 meters the temperature was -10, winds were light from the north. In the valley the temperature was -2. No new snow overnight at Pig Alley. These observations were taken at 07:00 hrs.

The ridge of high pressure will be with us until Wednesday, then a series of fronts will give us more snow and rising freezing levels.

For the updadted local avalanche advisory: November 24, 2012

Update on Siachen Avalanche in Kashmir: 7.5 months later

Size 2 Snowmobile triggered slide in North Columbia Cariboos: November 23, 2102

Using the big guns: Alaska

Skier accidental Size 2.5 on Schrund Alley, Thanks to Tony Sittlinger for the photo and description.


If you look carefully at the wide-angle image you can see that there is a
convexity low on the bed surface where the flank is at its thinnest. This is
where the slab was triggered from. The slab released on the Nov. 5 crust
which was about 5 cm's thick with small rounding facet crystals both above
and below it in the fracture line profile. It then stepped down to summer
ice.

The Nov 5 crust was buried 1.5 meters down in the fracture line profile, and
released twice with about 20 taps in deep tap tests. It was too deep for a
regular compression test. Other profiles taken today showed a compression
test range of no result, hard non-planar breaks and moderate sudden planar
shears.

Estimated dimensions are 100m wide by 1.5-2 meters deep and 200 meters long.

Tony


Some other observations from Michael Gigliotti touring from Diamond Head to Paul Ridge: 


A small ski tour today to Paul Ridge allowed us an opportunity to observe the new snowpack.  At 1550 m on a NW aspect there was 140 cm HS although evidence of undulating layers due to wind effect.  No naturals or  any other obvious indications of instability.  No results for either compression or shovel shear tests taken to 1 m depth.  Absent was the Nov 4 layer reported at higher elevations.  No melt freeze crusts observed and only a nonreactive layer at about 25 cm from the top.  No temperatures were taken.  It was a nice day.
Mike G.

Size 2 avalanche lookers right of shale slope, avalanche control on Saturday November 24 produced a couple of size 2's on both Whistler and Blackcomb.