April 17, 2018

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Recent slab from a cornice release.

    Slab from cornice drop.

    Recent wet loose. Locally, avalanche control produced a Sz 2 Xc. Sz 1 wet loose Na & Sc.


    YESTERDAY:

    Raining in the valley early Monday morning.

    Snow line at around 1000 meters.

    Warm moist air mass.

    Noon at 1835 meters, -2 winds were 10-20 from the North.

    Dark and wet later in the day.

    Just before sunset Monday evening which was 20:06 Hrs. +4 Deg C.

    Monday afternoon.

    Big picture Monday.


Weather Observations for April 17, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters     -7, Winds were 10-15 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters     -5, Winds were 30-35 KPH SSW--Roundhouse
1660 meters     -3, 7 cm of new, 9 cm in 24 hrs  Base 322 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters    +3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +9.6, 0.9 mm of precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs we have a few breaks and variable visibility.

FORECAST:

The low from yesterday is moving East with lingering instability in its wake. We can expect some breaks this morning in a Westerly-Northwesterly flow aloft. Mostly cloudy this afternoon with periods of light precipitation. The FL will hover in the 1400 meter range.  A weak ridge builds for Wednesday bringing unsettled weather to the area with the FL reaching 1700 meters, improving Thursday with mostly sunny skies and a FL hovering in the 1800 meter range. A Pacific front is expected Friday with light/moderate precipitation and the FL dropping to around 1500 meters.
Guesstimates: 1-3 cm by Wednesday morning, 0 cm by Thursday morning, 0 cm by Friday.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Unstable atmosphere today with mostly cloudy weather and periods of precipitation.

    Some breaks this morning.

    Snow flurries this afternoon.

    Fronts along the coast.

    Unsettled Wednesday.

    Mostly sunny later Wednesday.


    OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Waterfall on the Soo River.

    Afternoon snow squall Monday.

    Cornices are still fragile.

    Just a bit of ice left at the North end of Green Lake.



      From South Coast Touring, Sz 3 2 days ago in the Brandywine. Anton Horvath Image.

    Phalanx Glacier                                                                              Goar Bermudez Garcia Pic

Goar Bermúdez García

4 hrs

Report from yesterday Sunday, skinning back from Phalanx Glacier to poop chutes saw this. North aspect, start zone around 2000m, around 1m deep, size 2.5-3? and looks like went natural during last storm cycle on the late March persistent slab problem. Stay safe out there.

Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Report:

Great Skiing

Wind Slab

West Lion Slab


ARTICLES:

Couple caught in Kootney Pass Avalanche: Trail Times

Looking beyond instability: Backcountry Magazine

Avalanche season reached 222 snow slides for the season: Scotland

Avalanche Control: Kicking Horse

Spring snowpack still dangerous for backcountry skiers despite moderate to low forecast: Colorado

Is this an unusually poor spring in the Pacific Northwest: Cliff Mass Weather Blog