January 8, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    No avalanche activity to report--lots of Backcountry Travellers. Sz 1 Sc still possible on steeps.

                 Crown line at Kirkwood--That's a lot of snow!!                  Kevin Quinn Photo


    YESTERDAY:

    Scattered cloud in the morning, Saturday January 7, 2017.

    Low level outflow cloud in the morning.

    Wind gusts on Saturday morning.

    Front began to move in by noon.

    Another great day for turning.

    Good day for the park!!

    Later in the day.

    Snowmaking enjoying the temperatures.


WEATHER OBSERVATIONS:

Weather Observations for January 8, 2017: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters   -8, Winds were 15-30 KPH SE   --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters   -4, Winds were 30-40 KPH SE   --Whistler Peak
1860 meters   -5, Winds were 10-15 KPH SE   --Rendevous
1835 meters   -7, Winds were 10-25 KPH ESE--Roundhouse
1650 meters   -8, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 182 cm Base, RH 80%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters   -9, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 100 cm Base, RH 70%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters   -5, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was -4.2, 0.0 mm of Precip recorded yest

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



FORECAST:

A weak frontal band will bring cloudy skies and very light snow for today in a Southwest flow aloft. By this evening a warm frontal band will bring moderate snowfall into Monday morning. The front will likely pass by late Monday afternoon with a cold ridge building in its wake. Tuesday through Thursday will be cold and clear. Hopefully a weak front will arrive sometime Friday with moderating temperatures and some light snow. Guesstimates: 10-20 cm by Monday morning. We may only get 8-12 cm overnight for Monday morning, depends on where the moisture ends up. It may go South or we could get lucky. 10-20 cm for Tuesday morning, again we may get less or more depending on flow.

    Southwest flow will eventually bring some moisture into our zone.

    Should see some very light snow this morning.

    Moderate snowfall for tonight into Monday.

    Dries out Tuesday.

    Dry and cold Wednesday.



ARTICLES:


 Avalanche Canada has a warning for back country adventurers: News 1130

20 Feet of fresh snow forecasted: Mammoth Mountain

Atmospheric River heading to Northern California: Flooding Expected

Human Factors key in Avalanche Fatalities: Montana

Avalanche Center says avalanche danger High-Extreme: Utah



    OBSERVATIONS:

    Stratus layer in the morning.

    Couloir Extreme.

    Awesome Afternoon. An approaching weak front.

    Lots of snow in the valley.

    Bushrat Shoulder and Bushrat Chute.

January 7, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

   An avalanche has killed a man near Bulgaria's Seven Lakes of Rila--story in article section  Net Pic

   Locally, no new avalanche activity observed yesterday.



   YESTERDAY:

    Natural and man made snow early Friday morning January 6, 2017.

    Light snow for most of the day with the occasional sucker hole.

    Satellite image from Saturday morning.

    Valley cloud at around noon.

    Some snow accumulation in the afternoon.

    Decent light in the alpine at times.

    Very thin cloud layer with very light snow fall.



WEATHER OBSERVATIONS:

Weather Observations for January 7, 2017: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters   -14, Winds were 15-30 KPH SE   --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters   -13, Winds were 30-45 KPH SE   --Whistler Peak
1860 meters   -11, Winds were   5-10 KPH SE   --Rendevous
1835 meters     -9, Winds were 10-25 KPH ESE--Roundhouse
1650 meters   -10, 2 cm of new snow, 4 cm in 24 hrs, 185 cm Base, RH 86%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters   -10, 1 cm of new snow, 3 cm in 24 hrs, 100 cm Base, RH 75%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     -7, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was -3.7, 0.4 mm of Precip recorded yest

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

FORECAST:

Unsettled for today with a mix of sun and cloud in a Southwest Flow aloft. Cloudier tonight but very little snow expected, with a flurry possible overnight. Sunday will begin with unsettled conditions, but a warm front will bring light/moderate snowfall by noon continuing into Monday.  As of now Tuesday will have a mix of sun and cloud before the cold high pressure builds for Wednesday into Thursday. The low is weakening which means less snow for our zone, colder temperatures return for Tuesday.
Guesstimates: trace to 1 cm by Sunday morning,  10-15 cm by Monday morning, 5-10 cm by Tuesday morning.

    IR image from this am. Split flow with moisture everywhere but over our zone.

    Low is slowly drifting West and weakening.

    Unsettled weather for today with cloudier skies later today, as a weak warm front moves onshore.

   Warmer and wetter frontal system for Sunday. Trowal will bring some decent snowfall Sunday night.

ARTICLES:

Man dies in an avalanche near Seven Lakes of Rila area: Bulgaria

Update on the avalanche fatality in Montana: Glacier National Park

Avalanche buries U.S. 50, Monarch Mtn. Closed: Colorado

Huge snowfall leads to avalanche danger: Powder

Whistler Spearhead Hut Project: Indiegogo

OBSERVATIONS:

Lee Lau Jan 6, 2017

Snow quality still worth getting out of bed for in the Cayoosh Pass area. SE aspects skied well. Wind effect in top of run at alpine. S aspects have solar crust.

Temps were -10 at valley bottom increasing to -8, -6 throughout day. Snowed approx 3 - 5 cms during day. Skies broken. Winds light.

    Film makers doing their thing.

    Wind sculptured tree bomb.

    A bit of blue, cold temperatures all day allowed for some serious snow production.

    Still cold, but much nicer temperatures than earlier in the week.

    Off piste skiing was quite nice.

January 6, 2017

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche near Crystal Mountain has claimed a backcountry skier, article below--Net Pic

    An avalanche on Stanton Mountain has claimed a backcountry skier, story below             Net Pic

   Avalanche in Squaw Valley takes out some snow guns on Wednesday.

   Locally, no avalanche activity was observed Thursday.





   YESTERDAY:

    Very early, Thursday January 4, 2016.

    Fissile just before sunrise.

    Powder Mountain first light.

    Another awesome day in the mountains. High thin cirrus cloud Thursday morning.

    Kokanee Series Thursday on JC Run.

    Fun Course.

    JC Liftline!!

    Image from Thursday morning, front sliding down the coast.

    Off piste skiing improved yesterday.

    Alpen glow Thursday evening.

    Sunset was at 16:25 hrs.


WEATHER OBSERVATIONS:

Weather Observations for January 6, 2017: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters   -12, Winds were 30-40 KPH S  --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters   -11, Winds were 35-55 KPH S--Whistler Peak
1860 meters     -9, Winds were 20-30 KPH SE   --Rendevous
1835 meters     -8, Winds were 20-35 KPH S      --Roundhouse
1650 meters     -7, 1 cm of new snow, 1 cm in 24 hrs, 184 cm Base, RH 88%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters   -10, trace of new snow, trace in 24 hrs,   98 cm Base, RH 93%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     -8, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was -5.1, 0.0 mm of Precip recorded yest

   As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have overcst skies, limited visibility and it is snowing lightly.


FORECAST:

A weakening low pressure system moving down the coast will bring cloudy conditions with light snowfall in a West-Southwest flow aloft. As the low moves south, another low from the South will eventually combine, bringing several weak frontal bands, but their intensity and timing are very difficult to forecast. Several breaks over the next couple of days will bring unsettled conditions into the mix as well. Sunday is looking like the best chance for any real accumulations.  Guesstimates: 5-15 cm for Saturday morning, 6-8 cm for Sunday morning, 15-20 cm for Monday morning.

    Low moving down the coast.

    Light snow for today with overcast skies and a FL near the surface.

    IR image from this am.

    Unsettled Saturday with more cloud for Sunday.




VIDEO FRIDAY:

Atmospheric River hits Coast: Northern California

Ski Cutting on Mt Saint Helene's: Jay Lane

Avalanche roller used to break up snow: Copper Mountain, Co


ARTICLES:

Out of Bounds avalanche near Crystal Mtn has claimed a backcountry skier: Washington State

Backcountry Skier killed in an avalanche in Glacier Park:Montana

Rescue crews respond to avalanche Southwest of Reno: Highway Slide

Split Board AST Courses: Extremely Canadian

Two skiers saved after avalanche burial at Mt Rose: Lake Tahoe

Avalanche Safety Courses recomended for Backcountry Enthusiasts: Avalanche Canada




OBSERVATIONS:

Simon Warhurst January 5 at 8:55pm

I work for a forest company, Interwest Timber Ltd, in Lillooet. Over the last summer and fall we’ve opened up the road into the Van Horlick drainage and are actively logging and hauling on the roads now.  Industrial activity is generally occurring between 2:00 a.m. (logging trucks in and out) and continues until 6:00 p.m., usually with the last logging truck out by 3:00 p.m. There are approximately 20 loads/day being hauled, during the week. There is intermittent activity on weekends, which could include harvesting, road maintenance (plowing) and possibly hauling.  Logging trucks are turning in both directions onto Hwy 99, so do not block the Hwy junction.  The Van Horlick road is radio-assisted, so wherever possible, follow industrial traffic and pull over when they do to clear other traffic (generally loaded vehicles have the right-of-way).The road is not being maintained for 2 wheel-drive access. If you think you will need to put chains on, do so in a pull-out, not in the centre of the road at the bottom of the steep section of road near the 2km (as somebody did early this week and was almost run into).  Park only in signed, designated areas, specifically at the 6km (access turn-off to Sanctuary area) and the 9km (access turn-off to Temple area). The Snowspider area is very congested at this time, with most of the harvesting activity concentrated here, so we are asking people to stay out of this area. This work should go on until early February.  The Off-Road Vehicle Act and Regulations apply to snowmobiles, the gist being, don’t ride a snowmobile on a road that has been plowed and/or is fit for travel with other vehicles.  Thanks,  Simon Warhurst, RFT  Interwest Timber Ltd  250 256-7782     High cirrus cloud early Thursday morning.     Guns a blazing.    Big air off the Shack Booter.     Symphony Chair.     Sunset Thursday evening.