February 7, 2017

   AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Death toll rises from series of Avalanches in Afghanistan & Pakistan, update in article section.

   An avalanche in the Maurienne Area of France has killed a Russian Skier, story in articles--Net Pic

    A snowshoe runner has been killed by an avalanche in Switzerland-story in articles.       Net Pic

    Locally, little activity--Isolated Sz 1 soft slabs in steep alpine starting zones.


    YESTERDAY:

    Cold and grey Monday morning, February 6, 2017. -18 at 1860 meters with high humidity.

    Cool light early in the morning.

    Interesting morning with a very defined stratus layer..

    Awesome light and layers.

    Very grey at times through out the day.

    Flurries in the afternoon.

    Monday Morning

    Monday Afternoon, the big picture.

    Even some sucker holes later in the afternoon, with no wind.

   That is a lot of water jets.



Weather Observations for February 7, 2017: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters    -13, Winds were 10-15 KPH S  --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters    -10, Winds were   5-15 KPH S  --Whistler Peak
1860 meters    -13, Winds were   5-10 KPH SE--Rendevous
1835 meters    -16, Winds were   5-10 KPH E   --Roundhouse
1650 meters    -15, 2 cm of new snow, 3 cm in 24 hrs, 248 cm Base, RH 88%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters    -16, 3 cm of new snow, 4 cm in 24 hrs, 178 cm Base, RH 88%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters    -11, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was -6.9, Trace of Precip recorded yest

   As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have broken cloud, unlimited visibility and snowing very lightly.


FORECAST:

A weakening cold upper level trough will bring unsettled weather for today and Wednesday in a Westerly flow aloft. Deepening off shore low will bring a warm front with significant snowfall, strong winds, and a slowly rising FL to the area Wednesday night into Thursday. A cold front will push through Friday with a decreasing FL and light snow into the evening.The FL Thursday could go as high as 1500 meters, on Friday it will hover in the 1000 meter range. At this time the weekend is looking dry and unsetled as a strong upper ridge begins to build for early next week. Guesstimates: Trace-1cm by Wednesdsay morning, 25-35 cm by Thursday morning, 20-30 cm by Friday morning, 10-20 cm by Saturday morning.

   Cool dry weather for Tuesday. High and low at odds with each other.

    Unsettled weather for today.

   Unsettled weather for Wednesday before the low moves onshore Wednesday night.

    Looking moist for Thursday.

    Warms up a bit on Thursdsay ( warm front) hopefully will stay below 1300 meters.

 OBSERVATIONS &  INFORMATION:

Matt Gunn February 6 at 10:45pm

Things seem to be going astray in this group. (South Coast Backcountry Touring) For some time I felt we had a good supportive thing going here but it appears that we’ve got a fairly significant wedge issue which is whether or not it’s appropriate to share location information. As is pretty evident, there’s a group of folks who are strongly opposed talking about destination because of concern with will ‘blow out’ the area. There’s a lot of negativity and conflict around this and I don’t want the group to be dominated but this as a recurring discussion.  Inherently this group is about sharing information to promote good trips and good community. I have a bias towards inclusion and the secrecy approach doesn’t jive with me. I don’t believe this debate is going to get resolved here so I’m contemplating establishing that the groups is about sharing and asking people to let the debate rest. What do people think? Both sides have been articulated. Can we agree to disagree and put this debate on the list of items that the group is not intended for?  On a related note, I’m also contemplating putting the topic of the ‘secret huts’ on the list of items that the group is not intended for. I have my own feelings about the subject matter and what has occurred over the past couple decades but I’ve made a point of not sharing hut location information due to the sensitive nature of the situation. Clearly this is a particularly emotional topic and in reality there’s no good outcome that’s going to come from increasing numbers heading towards huts without a reservation system.  Thoughts?

    A very cold grey day.

   Still some great turns to be had!!

   Keeping warm!!

    Very rimed.

   Making snow on Horstman glacier. Over 430,000 gallons pumped so far.



ARTICLES:

A Russian Skier has been killed in an avalanche: North French Alps

Snoeshow Runner killed in Avalanche in Valais: Switzerland

Avalanches kill at least 137 in Afghanistan: Number of Fatalities could rise

Extreme Avalanche Risk alert for South Rockies: Avalanche Canada

Highway closure strands skiers and boarders:Hwy 3

Two Snowmobilers buried in Flathead County Avalanche: Montana

Highmark Spire Lt Vest Avalanche Airbag review: Mountain Sledder

Two Amtrak Trains stranded in Montana due to avalanches: Marias Pass