January 20, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Update on the Quake Induced Avalanche that buried a hotel in Italy, story below.               Net Pic

    Avalanche control on WB yesterday produced SZ 1-3 Xe(explosives)  Sc(ski cut)

    Mostly Sz 1 with some Sz 2 Xe, one Sz 3 Na observed on Phalanx occurred during the storm.


    YESTERDAY:

    Snowing to the valley  early Thursday morning January 19, 2017.

    Dense West Coast Powder.

    Variable conditions depending at what elevation you were in.

    Patches of blue in the afternoon.

    The steeper the better on Thursday.

    Significant cornice growth!!

    Perfect storm to fill in all the alpine terrain.

    Another great day in the mountains.

    Cool colours at days end.

Weather Observations for January 20, 2017: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters   -7, Winds were 30-50 KPH ESE--Horstman Hut 
2180 meters   -7, Winds were 30-45 KPH ESE--Whistler Peak
1860 meters   -5, Winds were   5-10 KPH ESE--Rendevous
1835 meters   -5, Winds were 15-25 KPH ESE--Roundhouse
1650 meters   -4,  5 cm of new snow, 14 cm in 24 hrs, 243 cm Base, RH 98%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters   -4,  2 cm of new snow,   8 cm in 24 hrs, 164 cm Base, RH 97%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters    0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +2.1, 12.3 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have scattered cloud and unlimited visibility.


FORECAST:

A weakening broad upper level trough will remain off the coast for the weekend. Today we will see unsettled conditions in a Southwesterly flow aloft. Patchy flurries are possible today in the alpine. Saturday will be overcast with some isolated flurries. Sunday is looking unsettled and drying out. A surface ridge will begin to influence the area by Monday with unsettled conditions. As of now Tuesday and Wednesday are looking sunny with seasonable temperatures. The freezing level will fluctuate from 1000 m to surface over the next few days. Guesstimates: Trace-1 cm for Saturday morning, 1-3 cm by Sunday morning.

    Unsettled weather for today, proceeding a drying trend.

   Flow for today.

   Low is weakening with showery and breezy weather for a few days.

    Sunny for Tuesday.


    OBSERVATIONS:

    Hey Wayne,

Not the best photo as I snapped it as I drove by. This is the slide that came down naturally at 130am while the highway was open this morning after the MOT had previously done control.  Jan 19, 2017 Jamie May

Matt Gunn January 19 at 8:33pm

Back to the Coast Mtns. Natural size 3 while the #duffeylake road was open at 130am this morning after avalanche control yesterday. Buried the road 6-10m deep. 70mm at Blowdown, 90mm at Cayoosh during the storm. Freezing level up to 1700m, rain runnels down low. Bring your shovel if you want to park anywhere other than the salt sheds.     There were good turns to be had!!     Periods of rain in the afternoon at the lower elevations.     Wind affect was evident in many locations.     There were moments where the visibility was not ideal.     Bushrat skied well.    One of the Blackcomb Ravens.

VIDEO FRIDAY:

Old avalanche footage in Colorado: Ophir

Kirkwwod avalanche visits a living room: January 11, 2017

 SAR Members  story of ride in an avalanche: Colorado

ARTICLES:

Snowboarders avalanche Survival sparks Social Media Discussion: Pique

Update on the Rigopiano Hotel Avalanche Disaster: Italy

Eight people found alive in hotel rubble: Italy

Avalanche awareness days on Blackcomb: January 21-22, 2017