Wayne Flann Avalanche Blog: January 15, 2022

YESTERDAY:

Awesome pre sunrise colours. Scott Duncan Pic

Mount Currie.

Sunrise was at 08:06 Hrs. Fissile Peak

Front was slowly moving in from the South.

Valley cloud lifted as the day progressed.

Powder snow at the top 200 m.

Eventually it lifted to the top.

Overcast with multiple cloud layers by days end.

Front moved in later in the day, started precipitating around 21:00 Hrs.

Weather Observations for January 15, 2022 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters -5, Winds were 40-50 KPH SSW--Horstman Hut

2180 meters -5, Winds were 25-50 KPH SW--Whistler Peak

1860 meters -3, Winds were 20-25 KPH SE--Rendezvous

1835 meters -2, Winds were 25-50 KPH SW--Round House

1650 meters -1, 2 cm in 12 Hrs, 2 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 231 cm --Pig Alley

1570 meters. -1, 1 cm in 12 Hrs, 1 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 162 cm. Catskinner

660 meters +2, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +4.2, 0.5 mm of precip yesterday

FORECAST:

A weak disturbance left a dusting last night, today will be unsettled, mix of sun and cloud in a Westerly flow aloft. The freezing level will hover in the 1200 m range, dropping to near surface tonight.. More of the same on Sunday with cloudy weather and a chance of an isolated flurry in the afternoon. A weak Pacific front arrives Monday with periods of light precipitation. Ridge flattens Tuesday with a few showers. Guesstimates: 0-trace by Sunday, 0-trace by Monday, 4-8 cm by Tuesday am, 0-trace by Wednesday am.

As of 07:30 Hrs we have scattered cloud and unlimited visibility.

GOES IR image from this am.

GOES 17 ABI image 2022/01/15. 05:00 Hrs.

Hi pushing in today with mostly cloudy skies, cooling down a bit tonight.

Westerly flow aloft today.

High still present, mostly cloud Sunday with slightly warmer temperatures.

Low moves in with a front arriving Monday into Tuesday am. Warmish.

Precipitation on Monday.

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

Cornice blast in Blackcomb Bowl Friday.

Old and new debris in Blackcomb Bowl from Xc on Fallers Rock.

Results from Xl Thursday in Lakeside Bowl.

Fracture line amongst the rocks.

Some slab chunks in Lakeside event.

Avalanche mitigation on Whistler produced Sz 1.5-2 cornice results. Xc.

Result from Thursday on Whistler.

Na on Fissile from last cycle.

Evidence of Na cycle in the backcountry.

From across the valley on Rainbow, Na avalanche cycle, from Thursday.

Sz 4 near Harrison Lake. Article Below. Pilot Photo

FROM AVALANCHE CANADA:

Avalanche Summary

Recent heavy precipitation and warm temperatures produced widespread natural avalanche cycles at all elevations. At treeline and below saw wet loose and slab avalanche cycles to size 3 on all aspects, during the most intense rain and warming. Upper treeline and alpine terrain produced storm slabs to size 3 in most areas.

Several very large avalanches have been noted since the storm, up to size 4 where terrain allows. Of note, an avalanche was naturally triggered near Harrison Lake, in the South Coast region. This was thought to have started as a cornice fall which triggered a large storm slab and stepped down to a deeper layer. It likely failed on the weak early December facets as it was up to 3 m deep in places and ran approximately 1300 m.

Snowpack Summary

Heavy precipitation over the last week has created a variety of surface snow conditions. Strong southwest winds have created pockets of dry snow at alpine elevations on north through east facing slopes. Precipitation fell as wet snow or rain below 2200m, creating saturated snow that is forming a melt freeze crust with moist snow below.

A crust that formed prior to the rain was observed up to 2000m. This is now buried up to 30 cm deep and may be breaking down at lower elevations.

Two buried weak layers of sugary, faceted grains sit in the middle and lower snowpack, at 100cm deep and 150-250 cm deep. The deeper layer was formed by heavy rain followed by a cold spell in early December. It is most prominent between 1700 and 2100 m. Avalanches on this layer are large, but sporadic and isolated. The most likely place to trigger it would be in thin, rocky snowpack areas.

The lower snowpack is well-settled and strong.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

. Wind affected aspects.