March 9, 2023

       AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

      Snowmobile Accidental 2023/03/07. Montana. Video below in Clip Section.          MTavalanche Pic

      Limited AC on Whistler Wednesday. Several Sz 1 Xe Sc. Windslabs on  steep upper lee terrain.

      No new avalanches observed on Blackcomb. Some point releases later in the pm.

       Sz 1 Na dry loose on Rainbow.

      Final avalanche reports on two incidents involving fatalities in February available below from CAIC.

      WEATHER YESTERDAY:

      Sunrise Wednesday was at 06:41 Hrs. -9 Deg C with a 5-10 KPH SSW breeze at 1860 m.

      08:00 Hrs. -8 Deg C wit5h a 5-10 kph ESE wind at 1860 m.

      10:00 Hrs. -11 Deg C with a 25-35 KPH SE wind at 2280 m.

      Wednesday March 8, 2023. 12:00 Hrs. -6 Deg C with a 10-25 PKH ESE wind. Camera is failing!!!

      14:00 Hrs. -5 deg C with a 15-35 KPH East wind at 1860 m. 

     16:00 Hrs. -4 Deg C with a 20-40 KPH East wind at 1860 m.

Weather Observations for March 9, 2023 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2280 meters     -11, Winds were 30-45 KPH E--Horstman Hut

2180 meters       -9, Winds were 10-20 KPH NNE--Whistler Peak

1860 meters       -8, Winds were 15-40 KPH ESE --Rendezvous  

1835 meters       -9, Winds were 10-20 KPH N--Round House

1650 meters       -8, 0 cm in 12 Hrs,  trace in 24 Hrs. Base 231 cm--Pig Alley

1570 meters       -7, 0 cm in 12 Hrs,  0 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 155 cm--Catskinner

  660 meters       -4, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +5.6, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday.

      As of 06:00 Hrs this am we have 0 cm of new, 0.2 mm in precip gauge. Base 231 cm.

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

FORECAST:

Dirty ridging for today as a surface high influences our zone in a Southerly flow aloft. Low is slowly tracking South spinning some cloud our way. A few sunny breaks mixed in with a mostly overcast day. The FL is presently below surface rising to around 1000+ m with daytime heating dropping back down below surface tonight. Low will send cloud our way Friday with some isolated flurries around sunrise. Overcast weather continues into Saturday. A weak impulse of snow early Saturday am dissipating in the early pm with a mix of sun and cloud. Unsettled Sunday am before a frontal band arrives in the pm with light precipitation switching to moderate precipitation Sunday night. Front continues into Monday am with moderate precipitation easing to flurries Monday evening. More on amounts and temperatures as we get closer. Brunt of the storm will be South of our zone so looking like the FL may stay at an acceptable elevation. Guesstimates: 0 cm by Friday am, trace-1 cm by Saturday am, 1-4 cm by Sunday am, 12-16 cm by Monday am, 12-16 cm by Tuesday am.  

      GOES IR IMAGE from this am.

      WINDY IMAGE 2023/03/09. 05:00 Hrs.

        Low well to the South, surface high pushing onto the coast. Cool.

      Dry day with the chance of a isolated flurry on Thursday.

      Southerly flow aloft.

       Low has moved East, clouds still spinning our way Friday. Seasonable temps.

      Another dry day on Friday as the low remains well to the South.

        Next low moving down the coast Saturday, weak short wave trough in the am. 

       A weak impulse of precipitation Saturday. Unsettled after it pushes through.

         Low deepens with a frontal band arriving later Sunday afternoon. Seasonable temps.

      Light precipitation later Sunday afternoon.

      Light/moderate precipitation on Monday. Warm and windy.

      Periods of light precipitation Tuesday.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

      07:00 Hrs, the camera has been failing for a couple of weeks now.

       Interesting light in the am.

       Large convective cloud development.

      Skinners, hikers looking for the dry powder snow. Very busy on Flute.

      WB Ski Patrol responded to a medical call on the East side of Blackcomb Peak. Ski Tourer.

      Nice looking turns on Decker. Small Slough.

      Sending it under Peak Chair.

      Natural Art, please leave me alone!! I will transform!

      There were good turns to be had on wind blown dry snow.

      Another awesome day in the mountains.

FROM AVALANCHE CANADA:

Travel and Terrain Advice

Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.

Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

Avoid travelling on slopes below cornices.

Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.

MODERATE--SEA TO SKY ADVISORY available top right sidebar.

LOCAL MIN REPORTS:

No new MIN reports as of 07:00 Hrs.

SHORT CLIPS:

Bucketing water onto slope for: Avalanche Mitigation

Surfing out of an: Avalanche

When you really are having a: Bad Day Sledding

Fine looking: POW

Snowmobile Accidental 2023/03/07. Lionhead: MTAvalanche

ARTICLES:

Two ski tourers injured in separate avalanches: Austria

How to learn from avalanche accident reports: Powder Cloud

Final Report on the snowmobiler fatality 2023/02/25: CAIC

Final Report on the snowmobiler fatality 2023/02/23: CAIC

Helicopter dispatched to resort to cover up lewd drawing: Alyeska, AK

California braces for rain and snow as back to back atmospheric rivers approach: Friday & Monday

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