February 4, 2015

    Most of Europe has been hammered with snow, many avalanche deaths and near misses.  Net pic

    Julien Lopez was retrieving his ski and set off this avalanche at World Free Ride Competition. 

    Here is the avalanche in motion, story below.  Kappl, Austria                                  Internet Pics

    07:30 Hours February 3, 2015.

    Some breaks yesterday morning. Mid and lower cloud layers created some visibility issues.

    By noon the mid and lower levels began to rise, bringing cloudy conditions to the alpine.

    By 15:00 Hours it was variable visibility in the alpine.

    Whistler Mountain later in the afternoon, February 3, 2015.

    Some colour just before sunset.



Weather Observations for February 4, 2015; taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters        -7, Winds were 10-20 KPH from the SSE
2180 meters        -5, Winds were 5-10 KPH from the S
1860 meters        -6, Winds were 5-10 KPH from the W
1835 meters        -5, Winds were 0-10 KPH from the E
1650 meters        -3, No new new snow, Base 136 cm
1550 meters        -3, No new new snow, Base 99 cm,  Relative Humidity 91%.

  660 meters       +1, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +5.6, 1.1 mm recorded there in 24 Hours.    



For the Forecast, a very weak warm front will bring cloudier conditions later this morning with some light precipitation this afternoon. A more vigorous warm front will arrive this evening bringing moderate precipitation and freezing levels around 1500 meters, continuing into Thursday. A series of wet frontal systems will affect our area in a Southwest flow from Thursday into Monday. There is the chance of a break on Saturday, but more on that as we get closer. Freezing levels will top out at around 2000 meters Thursday evening and then should slowly moderate through Friday, dropping to around 1800 meters. Saturday should see the FL at around 1600 meters, and dropping to 1400 meters by Sunday. Guesstimates: 8-10 cm by Thursday morning above 1500 meters, 10-15 cm above 1800 meters for Friday morning, 10-15 cm above 1500 meters by Saturday morning, 3-5 cm by Sunday morning. 

ARTICLES:

Free Skier sets off avalanche at World Tour Event: Austria

Scarpa Recalls F1 Ski Touring Boot: Product Recall

Werner Munter sees avalanche deaths as natural selection: 12 Avalanche Deaths in 5 Days

Update on the conditions in Switzerland: Jan 3, 2015

Hiker Buried under avalanche at Lavasan Heights: Iran

Surging backcountry popularity captures Ski Industries: SIA

Coast Mountain Backcountry Report, February 1, 2015: Escape Route

    Avalanche Control in Andorra.                                                                                        Internet Pic

    Mid and low level cloud in the valley yesterday morning.

    There were some nice breaks yesterday afternoon.