21 Dec 2017

December 21, 2017


    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Locally Sz 1-2 with explosives 2-Sz 3.  Sz 1-2 with ski cuts and some natural Sz 1 reported.

    Wednesday-Cakehole.  Look at MIN report below                                          Mitch Sulkers Image



    YESTERDAY:

    Spindrift on Wedge early Wednesday morning. 50-100 KPH from the North.

    Ice forming on Green lake.

    Nice to see all the snow in the valley.

    Good snow even where there was some wind affect.


    High cloud moved in later in the day.

    Finger nail moon Wednesday night.


Weather Observations for December 21, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters    -5, Winds were 30-35 KPH SW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters    -4, Winds were 15-20 KPH SW--Roundhouse
1660 meters    -7, 0 cm of new, 0 cm in 24 hrs  Base 162 cm --Pig Alley
  660 meters    -8, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was -1.6, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

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


FORECAST:

A weak trough will move down the coast today with periods of cloudy and unsettled weather in a Northerly flow aloft. Chance of some isolated flurries during the day but more likely to see a weak impulse tonight with some light snowfall. The freezing level will stay at the surface but there is an inversion in the alpine. The weak trough will leave some lingering cloud in the area Friday morning before the ridge rebuilds for Friday into Saturday. Models are inconsistent beyond Saturday with low confidence in the forecast. Likely see a weak front move in on Saturday night with light snow into Sunday. The ridge may try to regain its foothold again on Monday. More on that in tomorrows post.
Guesstimates: 1-3 cm by Friday morning, 3-5 cm by Sunday morning.

    GOES IR image this am.

     Low nudging the high. Some cloud spilling into our zone.



   INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:


    Roof glide cracks!

    Snow making taking advantage of the cool temperatures.

    Good quality snow to the valley.

    Spin drift on Castle Towers.

    North winds improved the condition of some couloirs.

    North wind all day but it did ease in the afternoon.


    Wind affect at 1500 meters from Wednesday.

    Winds were steady all morning 50 - 80 KPH, eased to 30-40 by 14:00 hrs at 2240 meters.

    Wednesday afternoon.

    Big picture with high in the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday.

Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Reports:
Click on area.

Oboe-Cowboy Ridge

Cakehole, with avalanche pictures.

Hanging lake




From South Coast Touring:


Abby Cooper
December 20 at 7:42pm
Spent the last three days in the Callaghan area. Very touchy yesterday. Tests failing on with a single tap - 28cm down on hoar sitting on melt/freeze. Snow was actively wind loading and still snowing when we departed.


Matt Gunn
December 20 at 7:20pm
Lots of wind effect in the Whistler Backcountry alpine today. Backside of flute was heavily impacted, as was oboe above treeline. The apostles were in great shape and cowboy ridge skied very well.


Eric Carter
December 20 at 6:39pm
Sea to Sky Gondola
Gondola skied well today. The alpine was quite wind hammered so we didn't venture above treeline. Protected trees were asking really well. Also a surprising amount of natural avalanche activity in steeper terrain. The avi path at the end of the road that we cross to start skinning up towards stadium slid pretty big last night or yesterday. All the couloirs in the Ledge basin flushed during the storm as well. The road/trail is in much better shape but it wasn't groomed today.


ARTICLES:

Today is the Winter Solstice: Shortest Day of the Year

Colorado Avalanche Information Center: 2017 Annual Report

Review of French Avalanche Incidents 2016/17: Pistehors.com

How a rescue sled can save the day: Mountain Skills

Avalanche Danger raises to high in west-central Montana: WCMAC

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