Wayne Flann Avalanche Blog: Avalanches

Showing posts with label Avalanches. Show all posts

26 Jan 2022

January 26, 2022

YESTERDAY:

Sunrise Tuesday am, 07:55 Hrs. -1 Deg C with a 10-20 KPH ESE wind.

High scattered cloud in the am.

Nice light in the am.

You can always find good turns!!!

Cloud thickened as the day progressed.

Looking North later in the afternoon.

Thin overcast, later in the day.

Weather Observations for January 26, 2022 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters -1, Winds were 20-30 KPH N--Horstman Hut

2180 meters -1, Winds were 10-20 KPH W--Whistler Peak

1860 meters 0, Winds were 10-20 KPH NNE--Rendezvous

1835 meters +1, Winds were 5-10 KPH S--Round House

1650 meters -1, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 218 cm --Pig Alley

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

660 meters -5, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +4.5, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday

As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have clear skies and unlimited visibility.

FORECAST:

The persistent ridge of high pressure will continue to bring unsettled weather in a Northerly flow aloft today. Mix of mostly sun and some cloud with a temperature inversion this am. The Freezing level will likely climb to around 2400 m this afternoon, dropping back to surface tonight?. Thursday is looking sunnier with some cloud in the mix. Friday is looking unsettled with a mix of sun and cloud. The ridge begins to get pushed to the South East. Low out of the Aleutians will slowly push the high out of our zone Saturday with overcast skies for most of the day. Some much needed snow will begin to fall Saturday evening into Sunday. As of now weak ridging will return Monday with a mix of sun and cloud. Guesstimates: 0 cm until late Saturday afternoon. 8-12 cm by Sunday am, 12-18 cm by Monday am. Numbers will likely change as we get closer.

GOES IR image this am.

GOES 17 ABI image 2022/01/26. 05:00 Hrs.

High pressure still in control, temperature inversions still exists. Mostly sunny Wednesday.

Northerly flow aloft.

High pressure continues to dominate but slowly shifting SE on Thursday.

Deep low in the Gulf of Alaska begins to push into the high Friday with unsettled weather.

Mix of sun and cloud Friday.

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

Sz 2.5 Xc. Cornice blast released a persistent slab avalanche on a 45+ Deg slope below.

Crown was .70-1.4 m. 20 meters wide. Ran on Rounds and facets 5 cm above 2021/12/01 MFcr/Fc.

That is a large peace of a slab avalanche.

On whistler Sz 1 wet lose on steep solar terrain noted on Tuesday.

FROM AVALANCHE CANADA:

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche activity associated with the sustained warm temperatures has been minimal. On Friday and Saturday, small loose wet avalanches were observed out of steep south and east facing terrain.

Explosive control work over the last 4 days produced cornices up to size 2.5 on all aspects. Natural and skier triggered wind slabs size 1.5-2 were reported on Friday.

Snowpack Summary

Higher elevations hold dry snow in the form of lingering wind slabs, mostly on north and east facing slopes. However recent winds have varied, expect winds to have loaded all aspects.

The widespread and robust January 16 melt-freeze crust sits up to 30 cm deep, as high as 2100 m. There have been some observations of surface hoar sitting on the crust on polar aspects at treeline and in the alpine north of Pemberton but this does not appear to be widespread. At lower elevations, the previously rain soaked upper snowpack is moist or wet and may be capped with a breakable crust.

The depth of the early December crust/facet layer is highly variable through the region but appears to be typically down 100-200 cm. Some operators are showing the depth as low as 60 cm in shallow snowpack areas and as deep as 3 m in wind loaded terrain. The weak layer is most prominent between 1700 and 2100 m. After showing no reactivity in the peak of the warming event on the weekend, we cautiously reclassify this layer as dormant for now.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

08:15 Hrs, not many early birds. -6 Deg C at 660 m. Inversion!!

Park is looking great!!

Variable surfaces depending on elevation and aspect.

Isolated patch of Sastrugi.

Snow stripped off the ice crust. Will get reloaded!!

Ashlu Peak in the Background.

FROM SOUTH COAST TOURING:

Large avalanche debris into the Ashlu River. Information and photo from David Reid

A100 has a nice class 4 avalanche off SSW slope of Buck Mtn. Avalanche start zone - near summit, runout/terminus was the Ashlu River (does not look like river was dammed temporarily by event but could not 100% confirm).

LOCAL MIN REPORTS:

East Slope of Flute: Jan 25, 2022

VIDEOS:

Weak snow on Mt Wheeler: MTavalanche

Ski the Chief: Not for everyone

ARTICLES:

Snowboarder triggered avalanche that swept away skier in Grand Teton: Wyoming

Avalanche Problems: Avalanche.report

Ski Resorts warn of the dangers of night skiing: PisteHors

Rescue services slam dangerous skiers for series of accidents: France

Avalanche danger Persists, how to stay safe in the high country: Colorado

Man who lost his wife in Banff Avalanche shares healing journey: Canmore

Marker Flexible Touring Goggles up for grabs. Send best avalanche shot to win. wwflann@me.com

24 Jan 2022

January 24, 2022

YESTERDAY:

First light on Whistler Peak.

Nice light in the am.

There was some nice morning light.

Front moved in by noon.

Front was sliding down the Coast Sunday afternoon.

Still dry snow on North facing aspects.

Another awesome day, another day of good sliding!!!

Weather Observations for January 24, 2022 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters 0, Winds were 10-20 KPH NW--Horstman Hut

2180 meters +1, Winds were 20-30 KPH NW--Whistler Peak

1860 meters 0, Winds were 5-10 KPH SE--Rendezvous

1835 meters +1, Winds were 0-5 KPH SSW--Round House

1650 meters -1, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 220 cm --Pig Alley

1570 meters. 0, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 156 cm. Catskinner

660 meters -5, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +3.7, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday

As of 07:00 Hrs we have clear skies overhead, unlimited visibility.

FORECAST:

The large upper level ridge continues to dominate the pattern in a Northerly flow aloft. Mostly sunny today with a few clouds in the mix. The freezing level will likely top out at around 2500 meters. An inversion this am, 0 Deg C at 2240 m. The low will send a series of shortwave troughs with some cloud over the next few days. A mix of sun and cloud will continue into Friday. Still thinking some much needed snow arrives Friday night into Saturday. More on that as we get closer. Guesstimates: 0 cm until Saturday am, Jan 29, 2022.

GOES IR image from this am.

GOES 17 ABI image. 2022/01/24. 05:00 Hrs.

Ridge of high pressure the dominant force.

Westerly-Northerly flow aloft today.

High pressure with a shortwave trough heading our way from the low on Tuesday.

High still the dominant force Wednesday .

High pressure with some cloud spilling in over the high.

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

An avalanche has killed a snowboarder in Austria. Article below. Net Pic

A ski tourer was seriously injured on Col de Sanetsch, Switzerland. Article below. Net Pic

Ring Creek, Gargoyles Area, Old Wet loose. Garibaldi Provincial Park. Johan Johan Pic

Old wet loose, Gargoyles, Ring Creek. Johan Johan Pic

Recent wet loose below Rainbow Mountain.

Older Sz 2.5 Appa Glacier, on rain event. Crown 60-70 cm. Bryce Anderson Pic

No new avalanches observed on Whistler, continued cornice trimming. Xc Sz 2-2.5.

Old cornice control scars above Blackcomb Bowl. Cornice trimming produced a Sz 1.5 Xc.

Very old debris below HUSUME still a problem if you ski/board into it.

FROM AVALANCHE CANADA:

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche activity associated with the warming over the weekend has been minimal. On Friday and Saturday, small loose wet avalanches were observed out of steep south and east facing terrain and explosive control work produced cornices up to size 2.5. On Friday, natural and skier triggered wind slabs size 1.5-2 were reported.

Last week, some very large natural avalanches took out mature timber and left mountainous piles of debris down to very low elevations. Check out the insane photos of the size 4 in this MIN from January 15th. We were anticipating the possibility of avalanches of this scale during current warm weather but as of writing, this activity has not materialized. Parts of the region are currently under a Special Public Avalanche Warning (SPAW). Check out this new blog post for additional information.

Snowpack Summary

At mid elevations, moist surfaces or a thin crust can be found on solar aspects, while most aspects at upper elevations remain dry. Wind slabs linger in exposed high elevation terrain, mainly on north and east aspects.

The depth of the early December crust/facet layer is highly variable through the region but appears to be typically down 100-200 cm. Some operators are showing the depth as low as 60 cm in shallow snowpack areas and as deep as 3 m in wind loaded terrain. The weak layer is most prominent between 1700 and 2100 m. The layer continues to be a concern through the current period of major warming and sun. The most likely place to trigger it would be in thin, rocky snowpack areas where it is shallowest.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

Some early morning fog.