December 6, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Except for point releases on solar aspects not much happening in the corridor.

    Moist point releases on Mount Currie.


    YESTERDAY:

    Broken cloud over the valley early Monday morning.

    Cold temperatures in the valley. Minimum temperature yesterday was -6.3 Deg C.

    High pushed the clouds to the North.

    Clear to the Southwest.

    Great snow if you were willing to put some effort in getting to it.

Weather Observations for December 6, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters    +1, Winds were 5-10 KPH NNE --Horstman Hut
1835 meters      0, Winds were 5-10 KPH NNE  --Roundhouse
1660 meters     -2, 0 cm of new, 0 cm in 24 hrs  Base 148 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters     -5, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +1.7, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

FORECAST:

The strong upper ridge will continue to bring dry weather to the area for at least one week. Northerly flow aloft will continue with inverted temperatures and cold air trapped in the valley. The freezing level could easily reach 3500 meters by tomorrow.  A weak system out of the North may bring some cloud for Saturday, but the ridge rebounds on Sunday.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Warm high pressure directly over us.

    Yesterday's image.


INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Cold temperatures in the valley have helped with snow making.

    I believe this is a first for this route outside the boundary.

    Sun will affect the snow on many of the glaciers.

    Lost Lake is beginning to freeze.

    Observations from the Duffy from Jeff Van Driel.                                            Jeff Van Driel Image


Les and I had a great day on the Duffey today under broken skies in the morning, clear in the afternoon, light north winds, -2 degrees as a high and no precipitation. We skied between 1300m and 2400m and ski penetration averaged 20-30cm. 
Surface hoar was observed to be 5-10mm below treeline and at treeline and 2-3mm in sheltered terrain in the alpine. Previous light to moderate northerly winds have redistributed  surface snow and begun light reverse loading.
Steep solar aspects were affected immediately by the sun today as we observed mostly snowballing and moist snow as soon as the sun poked out at 11/1130. Most other aspects and lower angle solar terrain still hold cold, good quality snow. 
There was evidence of a cycle of north aspect slab avalanches in the alpine, 5-15cm deep, up to size 1.5. These slabs were specific to very steep, lee features, and isolated on steep, lee features, that appeared to be 48-72 hours old. 
There is a decent, well settled, base out there, but still be wary of early season hazards. 

Cheers
Jeff

     Looks like nice snow on the Duffy.                                                                                                   Leslie Manley Image


FROM South Coast Touring:

Sam Mcgrath December 5 at 8:09pm

Hey Amigos!  Quick trip report from Joffre lakes today. We stuck to North-ish aspects and kept out of the sun. Snow is well consolidated and firm but still pow. Rode fairly mellow alpine slopes and cut some steep rolls with no results. No significant wind affect. Conditions on sun affected slopes were as to be expected, we noticed multiple loose wet point releases mostly underneath rocky features nothing really exceeding size 1.  Have fun be safe!

ARTICLES:

Experts to asses potential for increased avalanche risk: Waterton Lakes National Park

Important Voltair Avalanche Airbag Advisory: Arcteryx

The avalanche course that aims to save lives this year: Mountain Air