April 7, 2014

    Going through the mid mountain layer early Sunday morning.

    Cumulus clouds were forming by mid morning.

    Visibility on the Peak of Whistler was nasty most of the day.

    Practising makes for efficient companion rescue!

    Armchair out of the cloud.


Weather observations for April 7, 2014; taken at 06:00 hrs.

2240 meters      -2, Winds were 30-40 KPH from the SSW
2180 meters      -1, Winds were 40-55 KPH from the SSW
1860 meters      -1, Winds were 20-35 KPH from the SSE
1835 meters   -0.5, Winds were 20-55 KPH form the S
1650 meters     +1, 3 cm of new snow, Base 276 cm
1550 meters     +2, 2 cm of new snow, Base 214 cm
  660 meters     +3, Valley Temperature, trace of precip yest, Max temp yest +10


For the forecast the warm front lingers for today with cloudy skies, light precipitation and warm temperatures. Tuesday is looking much wetter with heavy rain expected in the morning. Cooler temperatures should bring some snow in the upper elevations with the passing of the cold front on Tuesday evening. Freezing levels are still expected to reach 2000 meters today, then slowly drop from 1900 meters Tuesday morning to 1000 meters by Tuesday evening. Wednesday is looking unsettled with some breaks in the morning but cloudy for the afternoon. Thursday could see another weak weather system bring mostly cloudy skies but relatively dry conditions. Friday may be unsettled, then the weekend appears to be dry and warm. More on that later in the week. Guesstimates; Rain 6-8 mm by Tuesday morning, 20 mm possible on Tuesday prior to cooling off giving us 4-6 cm of snow at 1600 meters for Wednesday morning. Snow accumulations of up to 20 cm above 1900 meters for Tuesday.

As of 06:45 hrs we have overcast skies, variable visibility, 1860 meters is in between thick cloud above and below.

Minimal avalanche activity in the corridor yesterday.  A few Na, Sc and Sa size 1 soft slabs. Pinwheeling on solar aspects and incidents of size Sc 1 wet slabs.  Warm temperatures will have an effect on the cornices and snow.

    Satellite image from yesterday.

     Moisture in the air for Monday.

    Cold front approaching on Tuesday.


Articles:

Its Cornice (collapse) Season: CAC Forecasters Blog

Not every powder tale has a happy ending: Cornice Collapse

Avalanche Formation: Swiss Avalanche Institute

Sudden Drop: Skier shares near miss: CAC Forecasters Blog

Hand sticking out of snow helps skier find friend after avalanche: Canmore, Alberta

    Did not take long for the sun to warm up the snow.

    Exhilaration and Excitation on Whistler skied well.

   One of Norway's fast GS racers. Whistler Cup GS Sunday.

    Sluff on the Stupid Traverse, Horstman Peak, on Blackcomb April 6, 2014.

    Many folk seeking some solitude in the backcountry.

    Skiing above someone in the backcountry is a bad practise.