Wayne Flann Avalanche Blog: January 28, 2022

YESTERDAY:

First light on Ipsoot. Sunrise was at 07:53 Hrs.

Mount Cayley

Hard and fast!!!

Cirrus castellanus clouds.

Alpin Glow.

Another amazing display before sunset.

Tricouni Peak. Sunset was at 16:57 Hrs.

Weather Observations for January 28, 2022 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters -1, Winds were 55-70 KPH SSW--Horstman Hut

2180 meters -1, Winds were 50-70 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak

1860 meters 0, Winds were 20-35 KPH ESE--Rendezvous

1835 meters +2, Winds were 25-35 KPH SSE--Round House

1650 meters +3, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 216 cm --Pig Alley

1570 meters. 0, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 153 cm. Catskinner

660 meters -8, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +3.0, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday

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

FORECAST:

Ridge of high pressure flattens today with a mix of sun and cloud in a Westerly/South Westerly flow aloft. There is an inversion this am with the freezing level expected to rise to 2400 meters today, dropping back to below surface tonight. A low out of the Aleutians will send a front our way Saturday, cloudy in the morning with some light snow starting Saturday afternoon increasing as the front intensifies. Warm front Saturday with a trailing cold front into Sunday. Freezing level appears to spike at around 1200 m, dropping back to surface by Sunday night. Steady snow Sunday with moderate winds and seasonable temperatures. Front dissipates early Monday morning with unsettled weather. Weak ridging for Tuesday will bring unsettled weather. Guesstimates: 0 cm by Saturday am, 15-20 cm by Sunday am, 8-12 cm by Monday am, 0-trace by Tuesday am.

GOES IR image from this am.

GOES 17 ABI image. 2022/01/28. 05:00 Hrs.

Ridge flattens today and slowly shits South East. Deep low to the North.

Westerly flow aloft.

Low slides down the coast, front arrives Saturday afternoon. FL goes up slightly.

Upper level trough pushes through Sunday. Cooling trend.

Light snowfall on Sunday.

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

No new avalanche activity on Whistler.

No new avalanche activity on Blackcomb.

Recent wet loose.

Old fracture lines still visible from last cycle.

Old debris in Shredder, will take more than 25 cm to fix this problem!

FROM AVALANCHE CANADA:

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported on Wednesday.

Explosive control work near Whistler on Tuesday produced a cornice fall that triggered a size 2.5 deep persistent slab on the weak facetted crystals above the early December crust. The slab was triggered mid slope, 60-130cm deep. This indicates that while the weak layer is unlikely to be affected by skiers and riders, it is still triggerable by very large loads.

Snowpack Summary

A thick melt freeze crust sits on the surface on all aspects up to 2300 m. Sunny alpine slopes may have a thin melt freeze crust on the surface, from solar affect. Direct sun is reportedly softening the crusts only on steep south facing slopes throughout the day.

High alpine elevations still hold pockets of dry snow. Moderate winds have redistributed this into wind slabs mostly found on north through east facing slopes, however recent wind directions have varied so expect loading on all aspects around ridge line.

The early December crust/facet layer can be found around 100-200 cm deep, most prominent between 1700 and 2100 m. In shallow features it may sit only 60cm below the surface. This layer showed no reactivity from the warming event on the weekend and is currently classified as dormant. Large loads may still be able to trigger avalanches on this layer, especially in terrain where the snowpack thins.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

Taking a picture through an icicle.