March 18, 2016

    Out flow winds Thursday March 17, 2016.

    Some ice recovery on Green Lake.

    Another awesome day in the Coast Range.

    Thick cornices.

    Spine Lines.

    Great snow quality.

    Good stability and amazing snow on Thursday.

    Some sloughing but no slabs observed Thursday.

    Some snowballing but no where near the activity observed on Wednesday.


Weather Observations for March 18, 2016: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters     -7, Winds were 10-20 KPH ENE --Horstman Hut Station
2180 meters     -7, Winds were 15-25 KPH ENE --Whistler Peak 
1860 meters     -9, Winds were   5-10 KPH SE    --Rendevous
1835 meters     -8, Winds were   5-15 KPH SSW --Roundhouse 
1650 meters     -7, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 346 cm Base, RH 87%    --Pig Alley
1550 meters     -8, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 270 cm Base, RH 86%    --Catskinner

  660 meters     -3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +8.2. 0.0 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have some thin high cirrus cloud and unlimited visibility.

For the forecast, the upper level ridge will bring dry and warmer weather today in a Northwest flow aloft. The FL should rise to around 1800 meters in the afternoon and the flow becoming Southeasterly.  We will likely see some cirrus cloud spin off from an upper level trough moving into our zone by Saturday morning, so some thin high cloud in the mix for today. Saturday looks to be overcast with the FL possibly reaching 2000 meters with some spotty precipitation. A wetter front moves in for Sunday with light rain in the forecast and the FL topping out at around 1900 meters. A cooler upper level low will arrive for Monday into Tuesday with unsettled weather and the FL dropping to around 1600 meters. Enjoy today before some wet warm weather moves in.

    Sunny with cirrus clouds for today, a weak weather system approaching the coast for tomorrow.

    High pressure will begin to move East today.

    Warm air mass for Saturday with light precipitation in a Southerly flow.

    Cooler wet weather forecasted for Sunday, the upper level low will move through by Monday.

    Unsettled for Monday with an upper level low passing through.



VIDEO FRIDAY:

Speed riding Avalanche Control: Valentin Delluc

Using Drones for Avalanche Control: Telluride Startup

Speed riders doing Proximity Barrel Rolls: Chamonix


ARTICLES:

How to stop skin glopping while backcountry touring: A Mountain Journey

SOCIAL--A group Safeguarding Aid: Switzerland

Avalanches in Canada have claimed 12 snowmobilers and 1 backcountry skier: Oct 2015-Present

U.S Avalanche Accident Reports: Avalanche.org

Rapid melt of New Zealand Glaciers ends hikes onto them: Fox & Franz Joseph

   A very impressive ridge line.

    A massive cornice line.

    There were a few clouds around on Thursday.

    Helicopter's do make getting around easy.

    Sledding takes a bit more effort.

    Several phases of cornice growth.