October 21, 2016

    Small slab avalanche on the Duffy Sc, observations below-- October 19, 2016 Aitor Asurmendi Pic

    Colours are awesome in the town centre.

    Monday afternoon, October 17, 2016. 3.9 mm recorded at 660 meters.

    Water poring out of the forest on Monday.

   Tuesday morning October 18, 2016--Snowing and 0 Deg at 1835 Meters @ 08:00 Hrs.

    Tuesday morning.

    A few breaks in the precipitation Tuesday afternoon. 9.2 mm recorded at 660 meters for Tuesday.

    Wet Tuesday with fairly warm temperatures.

    Wednesday morning October 19, 2016  -1 at 1835 meters, broken cloud.

    Early morning breaks on Wednesday.

    Cleared too the top briefly Wednesday afternoon.

    Wednesday afternoon, front pushing onshore, 4.3 mm recorded at 660M by midnight.

    Early Thursday morning, October 20, 2016. Overcast and +1 Deg. -1 at 2240 meters.

    Thursday morning.

    A break in the clouds Thursday afternoon. 11.0 mm recorded at 660 meters. No snow in the trees :(

    Looks pretty good in the alpine for October 21 St.


Weather Observations for October 21, 2016: taken at 07:00 Hours.

2240 meters    -5, Winds were 25-35 KPH SE   --Horstman Hut
1835 meters    -2, Winds were 10-20 KPH ESE --Roundhouse
1650 meters    -1, RH 97%  2.0 mm of precip    --Pig Alley  Precip amount since 00:00 Hrs

  660 meters   +3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +9.6, 11.0 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 08:00 Hrs this am we have overcast skies and variable visability.


For the forecast, cooler weak front for today with light showers beginning later this morning into this afternoon in a Southwest flow aloft. The FL will fluctuate between 1700-1500 meters. By early Saturday morning we could see some breaks in the weather with a lowering FL and a Westerly flow aloft. Saturday will start off unsettled (mix of sun and cloud), shifting to showers in the evening with overcast skies.  Sunday the low will bring overcast skies and very light precipitation before a vigorous frontal band arrives on Monday with light to moderate precipitation and a fluctuating FL from 1900-1600 meters. By Tuesday we will back into cooler temperatures and snow into the tree line. Will post again on Monday with a better idea for Tuesday into next weekend. Its been hard lately to figure out exactly what to expect. Lots of inconsistencies in the model runs.

    Unsettled this morning, cloudier later in the morning.

    Large trough off the West Coast will bring cool showery weather before a deluge on Monday.

    Unsettled Friday morning with mostly cloudy skies and showers by the afternoon.

    Unsettled Saturday morning with some cloud moving in for the evening.

    Cold front on Sunday with some very light precipitation.

    Low may deepen to 970 MB by Monday, will send a vigorous frontal band our way

    Moist front for Monday, will continue into Tuesday. FL should drop to as low as 1600 M Tuesday.




VIDEO FRIDAYS:

Pushing the Boundries: WB

Pre Season Reminders with Sledder: Nadine Overwater

Ski Cut in Chamonix: Early Season Storm





ARTICLES:

Update on the avalanche fatality in Austria: Planet Ski

How social media can lead to Avalanche Accidents: Adventure Journal

How does decision making factor in to Backcontry Safety: Whistler Question

Vail Resorts completes acquisition of WB: The Pique

When Glaciers transform into Deadly 150 MPH Avalanches: The Atlantic

Early snow at WB could mean earlier opening day: Vancouver Sun

Garibaldi Provincial Park Trail Conditions: October 19, 2016

    Profile from Monday, avalanche control on Monday produced several Sz 1 slides with explosives.

    Despite the warm temperatures the snow line is still fairly low. Tuesday.

     Lots of bears wandering around in the valley.

    Snow line on Wednesday.

    Thanks to Aitor for this image and observations.

Hi Wayne,

I have been following your blog for 3 years now, it’s great, thank for the amazing work!

Skiing in the Duffey yesterday, October 19th, we had some activity. 

Size 1, Sc wind slab avalanche. 30-40cm crown, 3-4 meters width and 15 meters long. Lee aspect, convexity. The photo is not great sorry, but feel free to share it! 

Seems that the wind has been blowing hard and wind slabs are a big thing right now. That one was little but I’m sure there are bigger ones.  Aitor Asurmendi

    Thursday afternoon.

October 17, 2016

    An avalanche on Sunday has claimed the life of a man in the Tyrol Alps, story below.          Net Pic

    Early season ski cut on Mt Blanc, video in article section below.                          @baud_kristo pic

    Snowing Friday afternoon, October 14, 2016.

    Deep low off the coast spreading moderate to heavy precipitation to Whistler.

    Snowline Friday afternoon.

    Moisture plume Friday brought 60.9 mm of precipitation to the Nester's weather station.

    Snow down to 680 meters on Friday, temperature briefly dropped to +1 in the valley.

    Saturday morning October 15, 2016. Above the valley cloud!!

    Image Saturday afternoon. More precip on the way.

    A brief valley view on Saturday.

    Snowing again late Saturday afternoon. 16.9 mm recorded at 660 meters up until midnight.

    Sunday morning October 16, 2016.

    Sunday morning.

    A break in the rain and certainly not looking like winter on Lost lake!!



From Thursday to Sunday Squamish received 201.3 mm of rain at the airport, Whistler received 103.5 mm of rain at 660 meters and Pemberton received 77.3 mm at the airport. Maximum wind gusts in the alpine peaked at 85 KPH during the storm cycle. Various reports out there with 110 cm at 2000 m on Blackcomb Glacier, I am sure there are areas with much more snow and likely some significant drifts. Remember that if there is enough snow to slide on there is enough snow to slide. There are a couple of articles below worth reading in regards to early season conditions!!



Weather Observations for October 17, 2016: taken at 07:00 Hours.

2240 meters    -2, Winds were   5-10 KPH ESE --Horstman Hut
1835 meters     0, Winds were 10-15 KPH SE   --Roundhouse
1650 meters   +1, RH 100%  4.5 mm of rain      --Pig Alley  Precip amount since 00:00 Hrs

  660 meters   +5, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +7.8, 9.3 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have overcast skies and variable visibility.


For the forecast, a weakening upper trough will bring cool showery weather to the area in a Southwesterly flow aloft. For today we can expect cloudy skies with intermittent periods of light precipitation and the FL hovering in the 1800+ meter range. Tuesday will be drier with a chance of some periodic light precipitation and a weak high pressure building later in the day. Unsettled for Wednesday morning with a warm moisture plum heading our way by Wednesday afternoon into Thursday. The FL could raise briefly to has high at 2100 meters but then drop back down to 1600 meters by Thursday evening as the front moves through. A weak cool front will move through on Friday with light snow down to 1500 meters. There is not a lot of confidence in the models for later in the week so expect some changes. Will update on Friday.

    Monday morning, mostly cloudy--Drying trend.

    Drying out with unsettled conditions on the way, still a chance of some showers.

    Unsettled for Wednesday with a warm front moving in Wednesday evening.

    Thursday looks like the wettest day of the week.

    Warmer on Thursday, but still a chance for it to be slightly cooler.

    Still some uncertainty in what the low will provide for Friday.



ARTICLES:

An avalanche in the Tyrol Alps has killed a 25 year old man: The Local

2017 Avalanche Airbag review: Mountain Sledder

Not yet winter but avalanches can happen: CBC News

GNFAC Avalanche advisory issued Oct  2016: Montana

Marker King Pin Binding: How to Use

Wyssen Avalanche Control System: Can you fly a primed magazine in Canada?

Chamonix also got snow last week: Early Season Ski Cut

    Briefly snowing just above the valley floor late Friday afternoon.

    Cornice development in the alpine.

    Snow line above Creekside on Saturday afternoon.

    Fall colours on Saturday afternoon, started precipitating later in the day.

    Looking like winter, good coverage into the treeline. Sunday morning.

    Light rain Sunday afternoon in the valley.

    78 cm at 1860 meters.                                                                                               Gord Isnardy Pic

    Information on the re-scheduled Fund Raiser in North Vancouver: Click Here