30 Nov 2016

November 30, 2016


    An avalanche hits 3 students in Japan, 1 Fatality--article below.              Net Pic of Tateyama Area.
    
    No new avalanche activity on WB yesterday.


   Avalanche activity on Joffre. Sunday. Report & observations below.   Devin Jones Image



    Tuesday November 29, 2016.

    Ipsoot first light!


   Image from Tuesday morning.

    Big Picture Tuesday Afternoon.

    Glide crack at old corner 8 got a bit bigger!!

    Mount Currie.

    Dusk Tuesday.




Weather Observations for November 30, 2016: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters    -7, Winds were 35-50 KPH SE   --Horstman Hut Station
2180 meters    -6, Winds were 30-40 KPH SE   --Whistler Peak
1860 meters    -5, Winds were 20-30 KPH SE   --Rendevous
1835 meters    -4, Winds were 10-25 KPH ESE --Roundhouse
1650 meters    -3, 4 cm of new snow, 4 cm in 24 hrs, 178 cm Base, RH 96%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters    -4, 3 cm of new snow, 3 cm in 24 hrs, 122 cm Base        --Catskinner 
  660 meters    -1, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +1.3. 0.0 mm of Precip recorded yest

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




For the forecast, a weak frontal band is passing through our zone this morning with the precipitation tapering fairly quickly. A weak upper ridge will replace it today into Thursday with unsettled conditions. A weak warm front will arrive Thursday night into Friday with a brief break Friday evening as a cold front moves through Saturday. As of now Sunday is looking cold and unsettled. The Freezing Level should rise to about 1200 m today then drop back to the surface by Thursday morning. Guesstimate: 1-3 cm by Thursday morning.


    Upper level trough for today.

    Light precipitation for most of the day.

    Early Thursday morning.

    High pressure with some cloud on Thursday.

    Another front Friday into early Saturday morning.




ARTICLES:

An avalanche hits 3 students in Japan: Tateyama Mountains

Update on the massive avalanche in the Austrian Alps, last week: IBT Times

Watch Yourself and Your Friends in the trees: The Question

SAFE AS--Women's avalanche clinics return: TransWorld SnowBoarding



OBSERVATIONS:




November 29 at 12:28pm

Another thing to report - this time from Sunday Nov 27, again on the NE ridge of mt Matier around ~1800m. A size 2 Avalanche was triggered by a member of another group while skinning up the steep wind-caked face of a crest in the ridge. It appeared to release a ~15-20 cm windslab which propagated widely and travelled quite a ways along the rain crust which wasn't buried as deep due to the wind exposure. The individual who triggered it was uninjured but a pole was lost in the debris.

Steve Andrews
Whistler
Did a heli drop on Rainbow yesterday. Surface slab releasing easily creating size 1-2 on SE-SW faces. Blower pow in other aspects. Some faceting already at higher elevation. With the cold and moist night I imagine some surface hoar will appear too. Be careful on the next snowfall!




    Early Tuesday morning.

    Catskinner Weather Plot


        Snow and Ice Art!!

    Multiple layers on Tuesday afternoon..

    It was a bit of a grey day.

29 Nov 2016

November 29, 2016

Avalanche Activity:

    Glide Cracks on old Corner 8 Springboard.

Avalanche control yesterday on WB produced a few Sz 1 ssl with Xe (explosives) Sc (ski cut).



    Early Monday morning November 28, 2016--sunrise was at 07:46 Hrs.

    Image Monday morning.

    Above Howe Sound Monday morning.

    Great skiing on the backside of Harmony Monday.

    Snow might have had a wee bit of sun affect in the morning.

    Another awesome day.

    Backside of Harmony.

    Just before sunset.


Weather Observations for November 29, 2016: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters    -8, Winds were 30-40 KPH SE      --Horstman Hut Station
2180 meters    -7, Winds were 30-40 KPH SSW   --Whistler Peak
1860 meters    -5, Winds were 20-25 KPH ESE    --Rendevous
1835 meters    -4, Winds were 15-30 KPH SW      --Roundhouse
1650 meters    -4, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 186 cm Base, RH 95%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters    -5, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 127 cm Base        --Catskinner 
  660 meters    -2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +1.8. 0.2 mm of Precip recorded yest

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



For the forecast:

Unsettled conditions this am, with more cloud developing as the weak ridge is pushed out by the next frontal band moving down the coast. The FL should hover around 1000 meters with light snowfall in the afternoon and overnight. By Wednesday evening the front will be replaced by unsettled weather as a high pressure aloft settles in until Thursday. Another weak front is expected by Friday. Long range models are looking at a large surface high establishing itself in the area next week with much cooler temperatures. More on that as we get closer. Guesstimate: 4-8 cm by Wednesday morning.

    High pressure for  early Tuesday morning.


    Weak front Tuesday evening into Wednesday afternoon.


    Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.


    Strong low to the North sending cloud our way late Tuesday into Wednesday.



ARTICLES:



Update on Earthquake triggered avalanche in Nepal: CBS News

Why does Mt baker get so much snow: Cliff Mass

Who should pay for Backcountry Search & Rescue: CBC News

The 5 best ways to pray to the Snow Gods: GrindTV


OBSERVATIONS:

November 28 at 7:36pm



Went up to Red Heather today with Pardeep to take advantage of some freshies. HS 145 at the hut, and 170 at 1550m. Ski pen was about 35 cm, foot pen about 105cm. Calm conditions with fog coming in and out. Minor surface hoar was noted on most surfaces, and conditions throughout the day definitely favoured further development. Stability was good on all observed slopes, nothing to note but awesome pow.




November 28 at 6:02pm

Thought I'd let you all know, we got a woompf at the high entrance to west cirque around 1.30 today. There had been tons of traffic through both entrances, but I guess with 4 consecutive skiers in a line, it decided to go. 
We dropped a few inches (felt like 6ft). 
Nothing slid, but the crack was very obvious. 
Snow was wind affected but no real crust. 

Was a nice little reminder that we're not in charge. 

Stay safe out there!!!
   


    Valley Stratus layer Monday morning.

    Monday afternoon.

    Whistler Mountain.


    Lower Cougar Chute.

    Nice light at days end.

28 Nov 2016

November 28, 2016

Avalanche Activity:

    Austrian Avalanche has claimed two lives, story in article section.---Net Pic

Avalanche control yesterday on WB produced mostly Sz 1 vssl in top 20-30 cm, Xe.
Some size 2 ssl with avalauncher (Xl) and Xc.



    Low valley cloud Sunday at noon.


    Mostly cloudy Sunday morning.

    There were some breaks on Sunday.

    By 16:00 Hrs it was snowing lightly.

    Skiing in Seventh Heaven Sunday.                                                                  Toby Salin Photo


Weather Observations for November 28, 2016: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters    -9, Winds were 15-20 KPH WSW--Horstman Hut Station
2180 meters    -6, Winds were 10-20 KPH SW   --Whistler Peak
1860 meters    -7, Winds were 10-15 KPH SE    --Rendevous
1835 meters    -6, Winds were   5-10 KPH SW   --Roundhouse
1650 meters    -6, 6 cm of new snow, 6 cm in 24 hrs, 194 cm Base, RH 96%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters    -5, 5 cm of new snow, 5 cm in 24 hrs, 135 cm Base        --Catskinner 
  660 meters     0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +2.3. 4.5 mm of Precip recorded yest


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

    Looking like an awesome day, high pressure is here for the day. Image from 07:30 Hrs.


For the Forecast:

The cold front went East last night with unsettled weather in its wake. The FL should hover around 800 meters in a North Northwesterly flow aloft. Expect some ridging today as a weak high pressure develops into early Tuesday with cooler temperatures. A weak front will likely push through on Tuesday afternoon, with unsettled weather for Wednesday.  More weak ridging for Thursday. Friday will likely be overcast with light snow.  Long range we are looking at a strong low off the coast in a Northwesterly flow for the weekend. More on that as we get closer. Timing of the weak front expected Tuesday/Wednesday is questionable. Guesstimates: 1-2 cm possible by Tuesday morning, 10-15 cm by Wednesday morning.

    Ridge will develop later today.

    Unsettled  early Tuesday morning with a front arriving sometime in the morning.

    Front forecasted for Wednesday will likely arrive on Tuesday.

    Drier on Thursday.


ARTICLES:

Update on the avalanche death in Austria: Mountain Journey

Quake induced avalanche has killed a Nepal Guide: CTV News

Siachen Avalanche has killed 4 Indian Soldiers: Kashmir


Observations:

November 27 at 8:48am

Snowpack/field obs from Paul Ridge yesterday... A bit incomplete - likely a few more things I could have taken note of/ more detail of but here's what we found! 

Snow profile: Paul Ridge 16.11.26 
Slope inclination: 15 degrees HS: 180cm HN24: 45cm Sky: Obscured 
Freezing level: overnight was approx. 600-700m, rising to 1000m-1100m by the end of the day Wind: light SSW 
Footpen: unlimited (sweet!) 150cm down Ski pen: 40cm 
Temperature trend: R (1-5 degrees in the past 3 hours - noticeable primarily and lower elevations than the Red Heather hut) 

Snowpack Obs: Dug down 150cm and did not see 1112 crust. 
Did both a compression test and a shovel shear test. 
Elevation: approx 1500m 
Aspect: South 

Dug down 150cm and did not see 1112 MFCr 
30cm F on top of 40cm 4F then 4F to depth of pit 
Compression test results: CTE7 down 30cm, CTM16 down 40cm on density change, CTH22 down 132cm. Quickly did a deep tap test on snow beneath 132cm but it didn't produce any results. 
Shovel shear test results: STE SP down 30cm and down 40cm and uneven break at 132cm. 

The layers were partially decomposed precip particles - presumably more rounded now given warm temps of snowfall. 

A few quick notes: would've expected deeper snowpack on the N side due to high S winds lately. Saw some 40cm crowns in the trees on steeper slopes in the trees which did not leave much debris. Many skiers “comfortably” skiing more open slopes on the North Side of Round Mountain. Did not see many other pits being dug, however not many were skiing on the same area as us. 




November 27 at 9:34pm

Cayoosh Sunday Nov 27. Still a bit bony in the boulder field. Higher above the lake was decent skiing. HS 150. The rain crust was down about 125.

    Some sunny breaks on Sunday.

    A break in the low level cloud.

    Freezing level just a little bit higher than the village.