December 20, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Locally up to Sz 2 soft slabs on Tuesday. Check out MIN reports below.


    YESTERDAY:

    Storm skiing on Tuesday. Conditions got better as the day progressed.

    Snowing around 2 cm per hour. with strong Northerly winds.

    By the afternoon there were some good turns to be had.

    Stopped snowing around 19:30 Hrs yesterday.

    Nice to see the valley white again.


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

2180 meters    -16, Winds were 50-100 KPH NNW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters    -13, Winds were     5-25 KPH W     --Roundhouse
1660 meters    -12, 2 cm of new, 16 cm in 24 hrs  Base 165 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters      -7, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +0.2, 2.9 mm of precip recorded yest

Maximum Wind last night at 2240 meters was 140 KPH at 03:45 hrs.

   As of 07:30 hrs this am we have clear skies and unlimited visibility.

FORECAST:

An upper level ridge is building today in a cool Northerly flow aloft. Sunny skies for today, with cold temperatures and strong winds this am. A weak trough will move down the coast for Thursday with some cloud in the mix but relatively dry. Unsettled Friday morning with more sun by the afternoon. As of now Saturday is also looking unsettled with a mix of sun and cloud. There are some inconsistencies in the models for Saturday and beyond but there is a good chance for overcast skies and light snowfall. More on that tomorrow.
Guesstimates: Trace-1cm by Friday morning.

As of 06:00 hrs this am at 2180 meters the temperature was -16 with winds from the North at 50-100 KPH which would put the wind chill at -30 to -34. Dress warm if you plan on going into the alpine.
Cover your face as frostbite will be a problem today.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    High Pressure with cold temperatures.

    Sunny today.

    Trough moving down from the East side of the high.

    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    From 06:00 to 14:00 Hrs 14 cm recorded at Pig Alley, 10 cm at Catskinner. Skied like 40 up high.

    Awesome powder turns Tuesday.

    Wind piled up the snow on lee aspects.

    Light snow until around 19:30 Hrs. 2 cm recorded from 14:00 hrs yesterday to this am.

    Whistler SAR Shadows.

    WSAR avalanche rescue practice Tuesday night.

    Tuesday Afternoon.



Recent Avalanche Canada MIN report: Oboe Creek, Chuting Gallery
Info on slabs from yesterday.


ARTICLES:

Avalanche Education pays off in Aspen and around Colorado: Aspen Times

Travis Rice shares a shocking escape to encourage safety on the slopes: The Telegraph

What we can learn from avalanches: Outside

Body of 4th soldier recovered, 1 still missing in avalanche debris: Northern India