March 5, 2018

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    2 Snowmobilers die, 2 injured in an avalanche near Esmeralda Peak in Washington State. Net Pic

    Several avalanches have killed skiers in France. Articles below.                                             Net Pic

    An avalanche in Austria has killed a skier. Story below.                                                        Net Pic

    An avalanche has killed a ski tourer in Switzerland. Story below.                                    Net Pic

    No new results from Avalanche Control yesterday.

    Skier remote in the Spearhead Yesterday, see MIN report below.                    Simon Thomson Pic


    YESTERDAY:

    Nice light Sunday morning.

    Periods of snow and variable visibility.

    Unsettled all day.

    Lots of tracks in the park.

    Flurries later in the afternoon.

    Sunday afternoon.

    Big picture on Sunday.


Weather Observations for March 5, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters   -12, Winds were 30-35 KPH SW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters     -9, Winds were 20-30 KPH SW--Roundhouse
1660 meters     -7, 2 cm of new, 3 cm in 24 hrs  Base 310 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters     -3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +1.6, 0.3 mm of precip recorded yest

   As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have overcast skies and variable visibility.

FORECAST:

A weak dry upper level trough will bring overcast skies in a Northwesterly flow aloft for today. There is a chance of some breaks later today with isolated flurries and the freezing level possibly going up to 1000 meters. A weak upper ridge will begin to build on Tuesday with dry unsettled weather. Wednesday is looking sunny with the FL reaching 1200 meters. A weak dry low will bring some very light intermittent snow with overcast skies for Thursday with warmer temperatures.
Guesstimates: 1-3 cm by Tuesday morning, 0 cm for Wednesday morning, 0 cm for Thursday morning, 2-6 cm by Friday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

     Unsettled today with cool temperatures from the Arctic front.

    Mostly cloudy in the am.

    Unsettled later in the day.

    Fronts on the coast.

    Mix of sun and cloud.

    No snow forecasted for Tuesday.



    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Snow makers are busy.

    Making snow on the Horstman Glacier.

    Old fracture line from last Thursday.

    Some people like to be visible even if they do not like the colour orange!

    Biggest hole of the day.

    Lights are cool.

    Steeps were skiing well.

    Flurries all day, 1 cm recorded at 1550 meters by 14:30 Hrs, Base at Catskinner is 231 cm.

    Sunday afternoon.


Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Reports:

Round Mtn

Spearhead/Vista

Skier remote Sz 2.5-3

From South Coast Touring:

Scott Mackenzie March 4 at 10:37pm

magnesia hut has been reopened for the season.... not for the Claustrophobic. We defiantly slept with our shovels inside :) west facing below the hut skied awesome today but super short runs. the south facing harvey basin was horrible crusty survival skiing getting back out. baked in the sun sat. constant mix of sun / cloud / snow all weekend. skis on / off a few switch backs up the logging road. not a big hike

ARTICLES:

An avalanche has killed 2 snowmobilers, injured 2 near Esmeralda Peak: Washington State

Skier dies from injuries sustained in avalanche on Hochlkarspitze: Austria

Avalanche kills skier near Vallorcine in Haute-Savoie: France

Avalanche kills skier near Aiguille Des Posettes near Vallorcine: France

Avalanche kills skier on Violenhorn near Barchenin in Valais: Switzerland

BRO driver killed in an avalanche in Kupwara: Northern India

Another death by Snow Immersion Suffocation at China Peak Resort: California