One of numerous slides in the Sea to Sky Corridor yesterday, this one on the South side of Spearhead Peak.
Skiers right track cut out the slide and went for about a 100 meter ride before exiting.  Jamie May Photo


As of 06:00 hours at 2280 meter the temperature was -8, winds were 15-30 KPH from the SW. At 1550 meters the temperature was -11, 86 % relative humidity and the barometer is rising. In the valley it is -9. No new snow last night.  Yesterday produced numerous size 2-3 avalanches,  naturals and skier released.

For the latest Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

Unfortunately there has been an avalanche fatality above Grizzly Lake, on a steep east facing slope of Powder Mountain.  The slide occurred yesterday afternoon when 2 snowmobiles were high marking on the slope, one sled was buried with its driver and the other managed to get out of the slide.  The size 3 avalanche ran about 100 meters.  The crown was  30cm to 1.5 meters deep and approximately 350 meters wide. The deceased was buried between 40-60 cm deep his snow mobile a few meters deep.   The RCMP, Whistler SAR, Whistler Patrol,  Blackcomb Patrol and other sledders responded to the incident.

Brad Sills Photo

On the international front news of large avalanches in Pakistan: Large Avalanches

Wayne.

A few photos from today. One skier accidental and two naturals. Did not see the party in the accidental, but the start zone was on a sharp convexity with numerous rock weaknesses that had been reverse-loaded in last night’s shift to northerly winds. Noticed a few more of these south-facing skier accidentals just south of the DOA avy boundary this afternoon. All had convexity's and shallow rock weaknesses that had been reverse-loaded.

Cheers,

Mitchell

Skier Accidental in the Cake Hole from yesterday: Photo Below

From Dave Sarkany  Rutherford region Photos below:
The common theme in most of these slides was N asp at treeline 1400-1700m.
There where some higher S aspect slides, new snow overloading an old crust probably. 

Today will be one of those days you wish you had one of these at your disposal!!!


At 2280 meter the temperature as of 06:00 was - 18.5. Winds were 35-55 KPH from the NNE. At 1550 meters the temperature was -13.5, 73 % relative humidity, and the barometer is rising. Overnight 7 cm was recorded at pig alley but 15 cm has fallen in the past 24 hours, 33 in the past 48.  At the catskinner plot 6 cm was recorded over night.   In the valley it is -10.  Avalanche control yesterday produced size 1-2 slides, mostly size 1's. Maximum winds last night were 90 KPH from the NNE and through out the night switched to ESE at times. Bundle up today, wind chill values as of 06:00 were -33.

For the updated Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

For another clip showing a ski lift being hit by a large avalanche click here: Russian Avalanche

Another clip of a large climax slide: Slow & Steady

East facing slopes certainly can be triggered with the right conditions and the sun is already strong enough to create avalanches.  After this next storm when it gets nice out start watching for solar aspects to move.

As of 06:00 Hrs at 2280 meters the temperature was -6, winds were 55-75 KPH from the SSE. Maximum gust over night was 86 KPH. At 1550 meters the temperature was - 4, 98.5 % relative humidity and the barometer was dropping. At cat skinner weather plot 19 cm was recorded at 06:00, at pig alley 15 cm had been  recorded at 05:30.  By the time you read this the 20 cm rule will be in effect.  In the valley it is +1. With the snow and winds size 2 avalanches are probable for today.

For the updated Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

Footage from the passengers perspective of the avalanche in France: Passengers Perspective

Some more footage from the avalanche in France, evacuation of the people left on the lift: Lift Evac

Some footage from an Avalanche in Ontario, language warning, its a bit long: Ontario

More intel on the Duffy slide on Saturday, a second party helped rescue the individual who was injured. Main injury was a concussion. Other parties reported that it was likely a 30 cm fracture as they were finding that in their observations and staying out of the alpine terrain.

Yet another fatality south of the border yesterday: Near Moab

Here is a news article from the day before this incident: Avalanche Conditions

Old picture of an avalanche coming off Phalnax Ridge.

At 2280 meters the temperature was -4, winds 55-65 KPH from the South as of 06:00. At 1550 meters the temperature was - .35, 87 % relative humidity and the barometer is dropping, 1 cm of new snow at pig alley. In the valley it is +4.  The freezing level should continue to come down as the day progresses. Moist snow down to 30 cm at tree line. Yesterday the maximum temperatures were +1.8 at Pig Alley at 12:00, -1.5 at the round house at 16:45. On Blackcomb maximum temperatures were +1.6 at Catskiner at 15:15 and -1.7 at the Alpine Shop at 15:15.

For  the latest Avalanche Advisory click here:Avalanche Advisory

For a CAA video on Avalanche Control click here: Avalanche Control Techniques

Another Avalanche fatality in the Lake Tahoe area, for the US that's 23 so far this season, Click here : Lake Tahoe

For a review on the compression test click here: Compression Test

Large wet climax slide destroys chairlift, 41 rescued. Click here:  France

Another avalanche on the Duffy yesterday, Vantage Peak. The incident occurred around 12:00 on Saturday March 3,2012. Several groups were ski touring in the Cerise Creek cabin area. A group of 4 were at the 2000m elevation on a steep NW facing slope of Vantage Peak running out to the toe of the Anniversary Glacier. The slide took one of the party 2-3 hundred meters down in a size 1.5 avalanche and was injured, partially buried and in the end self evacuated.  Visibility was bad so these are estimates , debris 60 m wide with a crown line from 20-30 cm.  By the time a helicopter reached the scene at 15:30 hours the individual had reached the high way and was taken to the Pemberton Clinic.  Any other information would be appreciated. 

Many snowmobilers are getting into the back country these days. The trend seems to be more people are sled skiing\boarding.

At 2280 meters the temperature was - 5.5, winds were 55-85 KPH from the South as of 06:00. At 1550 meters the temperature was - 1, relative humidity was 88 %, and the barometer is falling slightly. 1 cm recorded at cat skinner and 2 cm fell at pig alley last night.  In the valley it is +1. With those winds it certainly will slab up in exposed areas.

For the latest Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

For an interesting read on a Swiss Avalanche event last year click here: Swiss Incident

Jordan Manley creates a great documentary on avalanche control : BC Highways

Report on a fatality south of our border: February 27, 2012

Another stellar day yesterday, lots of fast groomers and soft snow to be had! Thirteen people did not have such a great day. Read below!


At 2280 meters the temperature was - 11, winds were 25-45 KPH from the South. At 1550 meters the temperature was - 6, 88 % relative humidity and the barometer is falling slightly.   1 cm of new snow fell over night.  In the valley it is 0. Observations taken at 07:00.

For the latest Avalanche Advisory click below:
Avalanche Advisory



If you have an older snow pulse air bag system click here: Snow Pulse


Some interesting information about avalanches during the first world war:

During World War I, an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 soldiers died as a result of avalanches during the mountain campaign in the Alps at the Austrian-Italian front, many of which were caused by artillery fire. Some 10,000 men, from both sides, lost their lives in avalanches in December 1916. However, it is very doubtful avalanches were used deliberately at the tactical level as weapons; more likely they were simply a side effect to shelling enemy troops, occasionally adding to the toll taken by the artillery. Avalanche prediction is nearly impossible; forecasters can only assert the conditions, terrain and relative likelihood of slides with the help of detailed weather reports and from localized snowpack observation. It would be almost impossible to predict avalanche conditions many miles behind enemy lines, making it impossible to intentionally target a slope at risk for avalanches. Also, high priority targets received continual shelling and would be unable to build up enough unstable snow to form devastating avalanches, effectively imitating the avalanche prevention programs at ski resorts.

Thirteen less people skiing today as a result of skiing in the lakeside permanent closure. They were all pass holders and the unfortunate issue with loosing your pass for a year is,  that also means loosing your bike park privileges.  For more information on permanent closures refer to the January 12 Th post.

Fresh snow is always welcomed!!

As of 06:00 the temperature at 2280 meters was -13, winds were 15-20 KPH from the West. At 1550 meters the temperature was -9.5, 95 % humidity and the barometer is dropping slightly. 1 cm of new over night.  In the valley it is -3.
Still getting releases on the stellars that are down between 30-50 cm. Size 1's still possible with a slow gain in strength.

Thanks to Lee Lau for forwarding this report from last Saturday:

Date

2012-02-25

Location

Duffey Lake, South side of NE ridge, Mt Chief Pascal

Location Description

Province

BC

Mountain Range

Coast Mountains

Coordinates

0 122.442 Lat/Long Decimal Degrees

Elevation

1760m

Activity

Backcountry Skiing

Involvement

2

Injury

2

Fatality

0

Description

Whumph occurred @ 1300hrs, on ascent, 4 skiers climbing slope, ~ 20m from ridge crest. Skiers on south east side of NE ridge of Mt. Chief Pascal, approx. 1760m, approx size class 1.5 Skier 1 carried less than 5m, pushed into trees, partially buried, minor injuries. Skier 2 carried ~10m, pushed into trees, partially buried, fractured lower leg. Skiers 3 & 4 not buried. Skiers self rescued using rescue sled & improvised ski sled. ~ 25 cm of new snow fell between 1300 & 2300, back @ car @ 23:30.

For the updated Avalanche Advisory click here:
Avalanche Advisory


From the CAA a new scale to view: CAA

Ski cut on Ipsoot Sunday, Sz 2 on stellars over WSL from Feb 24, 12

At 2280 meters the temperature was -11.5, as of 06:00. Winds were 15-25 KPH from the South. At 1550 meters the temperature was -7.5, 95 % relative humidity and the barometer is rising slightly. In the valley it is -3. Received 9cm overnight at catskinner and 10 cm at pig alley.  Most of the precipitation went south.

For the latest Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

Andor Tari Photo:  9 Th hole, Sa looks like a 40 cm crown, not a good place to get caught.

Click here for some footage of avalanche control on our BC highways: Highways

Slide yesterday near Russet lake.                                                                                                       Lee Harrison Photo

Hi Wayne, we were skiing today on lower Russett Ridge, north facing slope @ approx 5800ft, just getting into treeline and popped a soft slab with 40cm crown, 30 m wide and ran 150 -200metres, the depth of the debris at the runout was close to 2m, there is a slight convexity at the crown and the slope was well loaded.  Thanks for your blog.




At 2280 meters the temperature was - 15.5  at 06:00 hrs. The winds were 25-35 KPH from the SSE. At 1550 meters the temperature was - 10.5, 81 % relative humidity and the barometer is on a downward trend. No new snow overnight. In the valley it is - 9. Will start snowing today, we could see as much as 20 cm by tomorrow morning. 


Word on the street is  that there is some buried surface hoar towards the Hurley area, Duffy is still producing size 1 slides on preserved stellars, and the Whistler area is similar. 






For the latest Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

It was a very busy Saturday past, with many stories of avalanche activity. Through the grapevine there was an involvement on the Duffy where a skier fractured their leg after hitting a tree and getting partially buried. Would like to find out more about this involvement?? Two snowshoers were involved in a size .5 slide on Decker Saturday and heli evacuated on Sunday.  Two skiers were involved in a size 2 avalanche behind Flute on Saturday,  in some very steep terrain. One individual suffered a knee injury and was air lifted out of the gully on Sunday. Check out the image below.

Thanks to Braden Douglas for the google image of where the slide was. Hard to see but the individual ended up just above where the marked area becomes thin. The fracture line is at the top with their tracks approaching the crown line. 


For an East Coast avalanche check this out: Tuckermans Ravine

Below is some information on Avalanche Dynamics:

When an avalanche occurs, as the snow slides down the slope any slab present begins to fragment into increasingly smaller tumbling fragments. If the fragments become small enough the avalanche takes on the characteristics of a fluid. When sufficiently fine particles are present they can become airborne and, given a sufficient quantity of airborne snow, this portion of the avalanche can become separated from the bulk of the avalanche and travel a greater distance as a powder snow avalanche. Scientific studies using radar, following the 1999 Galtür avalanche disaster, confirmed suspicions that a saltation layer forms between the surface and the airborne components of an avalanche, which can also separate from the bulk of the avalanche.

Driving a (non-airborne) avalanche is the component of the avalanche's weight parallel to the slope; as the avalanche progresses any unstable snow in its path will tend to become incorporated, so increasing the overall weight. This force will increase as the steepness of the slope increases, and diminish as the slope flattens. Resisting this are a number of components that are thought to interact with each other: the friction between the avalanche and the surface beneath; friction between the air and snow within the fluid; fluid-dynamic drag at the leading edge of the avalanche; shear resistance between the avalanche and the air through which it is passing, and shear resistance between the fragments within the avalanche itself. An avalanche will continue to accelerate until the resistance exceeds the forward force.

New snow is always a nice thing!! But can also be a bad thing. Check out the story below from yesterday.

At 2280 meters the temperature was - 15.5 at 06:00 hrs. Winds were 10-15 KPH from the SSE. At 1550 meters the temperature was - 15, 75 % relative humidity, and the barometer is steady. No new snow overnight. In the valley it is - 13.

For the updated Avalanche Advisory  click here: Avalanche Advisory

It seems that most of the activity yesterday was down around 50 cm on preserved stellars.

Another avalanche fatality on February 25, 2012 bringing the total to 21 fatalities for the 2011-2012 season in the U.S.

An avalanche near Marias Pass, Mont., killed one man and injured another on Saturday.

The men were riding snow bikes in a drainage area off Skyland Road when the avalanche was triggered.

Rescue teams from the Flathead County Sheriff's Office, the Glacier County Sheriff's Office, Glacier County Search and Rescue and North Valley Search and Rescue combined their efforts in search of the victim. The body was recovered about 3:45 p.m. MST (5:45 p.m. EST).

Injuries to the second man were minor.

The death on Saturday marks the third by avalanche this month in northwestern Montana. There have been seven avalanche fatalities in Montana this winter.

"The foothills to the west of the avalanche site recorded up to 6 inches of snow on Saturday evening," said AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.

Fresh snow on top of existing snow increases the risk of avalanches.

Hi Wayne, 

On our way back from Decker saw a group(5??) hiking across the top of Disease Ridge.
As we got around the corner and were about to drop in to lower Body Bag we looked back to see 3 of the group sideslipping/billygoating through the rocks.
It's a poor zoomed in photo but you can get an idea.
30m above the bottom of the slide is the guy who got dragged through the rocks above him after his friend cut off a slab from the top unsupported section. This ran, caught him while he was in the middle section, and took him through.
He has another 'friend' in the middle section who didn't get taken down.
We waited till his friend made it down to him, they appeared alright. 
Other than that all we could make out was that they had no packs.

Couple other observations from today.
Looked like mostly natural activity from the Friday storm. 
Size 1.5-2 in the area of Don't Swill( the entrance and also left of the wind lip across the traverse to Husume) under last nights snow.
Similar size on Decker N Face,Pattison NW Face size 2. Both visible under last nights snow.
9th hole size 2 also under last nights snow. Ski cut only produced surface sluff.  Fairly firm in the top 1/3.

Jamie May

Thanks Jamie for the information!!!



Some information on another slide in The US. Click here: February 22 Nd Avalanche

For some information on triggers read this:

Triggers

Avalanches are always caused by an external stress on the snow pack; they are not random or spontaneous events. Natural triggers of avalanches include additional precipitation, radiative and convective heating, rock fall, ice fall, and other sudden impacts; however, even a snow pack held at a constant temperature, pressure, and humidity will evolve over time and develop stresses, often from the downslope creep of the snow pack. Human triggers of avalanches include skiers, snowmobiles, and controlled explosive work. The triggering stress load can be either localized to the failure point, or remote. Localized triggers of avalanches are typified by point releases from solar heated rocks. Remotely triggered avalanches occur when a tensile stress wave is transmitted through the slab to the start zone, once the stress wave reaches the start zone a fracture initiates and propagates the failure. Of exceptional note is that avalanches can not only entrain additional snow within the failing slab, but can also, given the sufficient accumulation of overburden due to a smaller avalanche, step down and trigger deeper slab instabilities that would be more resilient against smaller stresses. The triggering of avalanches is an example of critical phenomenon.

Dean's Adieu caught 2 ski tourers last Saturday. They recovered their gear but this picture is very similar to the one in Volume 4 of Avalanche Accidents in Canada.  Stay away from the rocks just above the normal traverse!!  This slope has taken a life. Thanks to Charles Ratzlaff for this photo.




Hi Wayne,

I've been reading your blog religiously this winter, great resource. Thought as I saw my first wild avalanche today and it was at your place of work that you might be interested in hearing about it.

Occured on Blackcomb Glacier at about 1:30pm, triggered from the ridgeline above the Glacier bootpack on the extreme lookers left above where the windlip forms. Two guys had bootpacked straight up the extreme lookers right of the slope, traversed along the top of the ridge and dropped. First rider made one turn and a slab pulled out which seemed to be composed mostly of the new storm snow, no more than 15cm deep. Skier attempted to ride out of the slide but was overtaken and ended up in the toe of the debris field buried about waist deep. He was able to self extricate uninjured but down a ski. His partner skied down the path and checked him over, both of them shaken up but otherwise OK. Slide and debris ran literally a metre past my feet as I was standing next to the bootpack buckling in. My friend and I had just discussed how we were going to stay inside the gates as the snow seemed really touchy.

Hope this is of interest to you and relevant. Thanks for the work you're doing with the blog.

Ryan Gardiner


At 2280 meters the temperature was -16 as of 06:00. Winds were 40-50KPH from the NE. At 1550 meters the temperature was - 11, 81 % humidity and the barometer is rising slowly. 14 cm of new snow fell there last night and 11 cm was recorded at pig alley. In the valley it is -4. The forecast is very favourable for playing today, but with all the new snow size 1-2.5 soft slabs can be expected. This morning heli bombing is producing size 1-2 avalanches in the new snow. With the north winds expect reverse loading.

For the latest Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

For a quick clip from an avalanche set off at Red Pass in Colorado ( language warning) click here: Avalanche

Toby Tortorelli Photo: Skier getting caught in the Brandywine area, lost a ski after hitting trees on February 21 st. 

ALOHA!!  Just got back from Maui, had some technical issues and all the pre posts I had planned stopped on Tuesday.  Was also going to post from there but was in some remote areas camping.  Will be back up and getting the latest information out by tomorrow.

At 2280 meters the temperature was -9 at 06:00. Winds were 3-5 KPH from the South. At 1550 meters the temperature was - 4.5, 98 % humidity, and the barometer is on the rise. At the cat skinner weather plot 11 cm of new snow fell overnight and at pig alley there was 13 cm recorded. In the valley it is -1. Today will be cloudy, with light winds and flurries.

For the latest Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

Nice area in the Rutherford Valley.

For the latest weather update click here: Weather

For the latest Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

An explanation of why there have been so many avalanches in the US this year: Snow pack

Guess where this is?

For the updated weather information click here: Weather

For the updated Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

A large Avalanche from New Zealand: Avalanche from _ _ _ _

The tusk can be beautiful in most light!

For the updated weather click here: Weather

For the updated Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

Another video on the Avalanche Conditions they are dealing with in the US: Hard Slabs