December 29, 2016

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche near the White Pass Ski Area has killed a 32 Year old male-Story in articles-Net Pic


Locally, not much activity yesterday--a couple of isolated Sc (ski cuts) Sz 1 wind slab and soft slab on N  steep aspect.





   YESTERDAY:

    Early Wednesday morning December 28, 2016.

    Cold snow is easy to turn into cord.

    Nice day for an AST 2 Course--Whistler near country.                                     Vince Shuley Image

                   

    Image from 11:30 am Wednesday.

    Good looking front on its way.

    Snowing lightly near days end Wednesday.

    Whistler is certainly a winter wonderland these days.



WEATHER OBSERVATIONS:

Weather Observations for December 29, 2016,: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters   -10, Winds were 55-70 KPH SE  --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters     -9, Winds were 40-75 KPH S    --Whistler Peak
1860 meters     -7, Winds were 20-40 KPH SE  --Rendevous
1835 meters     -7, Winds were 20-50 KPH ESE--Roundhouse
1650 meters     -6, 10 cm of new snow, 10 cm in 24 hrs, 185 cm Base, RH 96%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters     -6, 10 cm of new snow, 10 cm in 24 hrs, 113 cm Base, RH 97%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     -1, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +0.6, 1.8 mm of Precip recorded yest






FORECAST:

A vigorous warm front will bring moderate/heavy snow fall with high winds in a Westerly/ Southwesterly Flow Aloft. The freezing level may rise slightly above the valley floor. The flow will shift tonight to a Northwesterly flow aloft as a trailing cold front moves through the area.  For Friday, expect a cool Northwesterly flow associated with a dry air mass. Mostly sunny skies with some cloud development for Friday with the FL well below the valley floor. A weak upper level trough will bring light snow to the area for Saturday, stalling into Sunday with unsettled conditions. A strong blocking ridge will establish itself for Monday into next week with a strong Northerly flow aloft. Get out the down for Sunday into Monday.
Guesstimates: 30-40 cm by Friday morning, 4-6 cm for Sunday morning.

    Warm front on the coast this morning.

    Vigorous front for Thursday.

    Looking like a nice day for Friday.

    Weak front Saturday into early Sunday.

   Blocking pattern for next week, would be nice if it went away!!

    Cold and windy on Sunday.



ARTICLES:

Avalanche Fatality in White Pass area, Washington State: White Pass Ski Area

If we Screw Up and Shut Up-Nothing is Learned: Jackcon Hole News

Extremely Canadian launches Big Mountain Awareness Camps for Youth: The Question

Weak Snowpack heightens avalanche danger in South central Alaska: CNFAIC

The Scope Bluetooth-Enabled Ski pole will keep you safe in the Backcountry (Really?): Digital Trends









    OBSERVATIONS:

    AST 2 Course Wednesday December 28, 2016.                                                    Vince Shuley Image

                                                                                                                                     Vince Shuley Image

   Visibility became challenging later in the day.

    Extremely Canadian launches Big Mountain Awareness Camps.                                                 Net Pic

    December 29, 2015--Bluebird and cold this day last year.