April 21, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Sz 2 North of Pemberton Sc

    Locally, wide spread snowballing, cornice control continues to put debris in the bowls.


    YESTERDAY:

    Early Thursday morning April 20, 2017. Mountains were obscured.

    Mount Currie early Thursday morning, eventually the clouds dissipated.

    Debris fan at the bottom of Mount Currie.

    When the sun came out the snow became moist quickly.

    Thursday Morning.

    Ripe Cornices.

    Big Air.

    Stomping the landing.

    Late evening light.

    Pretty impressive face.

Weather Observations for April 21, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -6, Winds were 10-20 KPH E   --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters      -6, Winds were   5-10 KPH NE--Whistler Peak
1860 meters      -4, Winds were   5-10 KPH NE--Rendevous
1835 meters      -4, Winds were     0-5 KPH NE--Roundhouse
1650 meters      -5, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 362 cm Base, RH 96%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters      -4, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 264 cm Base, RH 92%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +12.2, 3.5 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 hrs we have clear skies and unlimited visibility.


FORECAST:

An upper level ridge in a Northwesterly flow aloft will bring dry sunny conditions to the area. As the day progresses we should see some of the valley cloud dissipate. The FL is expected to jump to 2200 meters this afternoon. A series of weather systems will affect our area by Saturday and continue to bring warm spring showery weather into mid next week. A front will likely move into the area Saturday morning with precipitation expected by the afternoon. The Fl is 2100 meters in the morning, dropping to 1500 meters by Saturday morning. More on the series of frontal bands in Tomorrows post.
Guesstimates: 0 cm by Saturday morning, 5-10 cm by Sunday morning above 1650 meters, 2-6 cm by Monday morning above 1600 meters, 2-5 cm by Tuesday morning above 1700 meters.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    High pressure for today.

   Flow from yesterday into today.

   More precipitation for Saturday.

    Sunday into Monday is also looking wet.

    As is Tuesday.


    OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

   Warm temperatures with snowballing.

   Black Squirel is looking pretty good.

   Rainbow in the Pemberton Valley.

   Cornices are very large.

   Hitting the sweet spot.

VIDEO FRIDAY:

Avalanche in Dagestan: You Tube

Search & Rescue Dog: A hero in the snow

Fat Bike Pond Skim: Instagram

Skiing to Mountain biking all in one run: Volkl.com


ARTICLES:

Italian Tourists extremely lucky in Avalanche: Norway

Recommendations after February Avalanche says better data and more caution needed when evaluating risk-Margin for Error: Longyearbyen, Norway

April 20, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Avalanche control yesterday produced some Sz 1-1.5 20-40 cm ssl (soft slabs) in lee terrain.

    There were some areas where slabs occured in drifted snow up to 80 cm.

    YESTERDAY:

    Valley cloud early Wednesday morning April 19, 2017.

    Out of the moist layer.

    Still dry at 08:30 Hours.

    Frontal band did arrive quickly out of the South.

    Snowing at around 09:00 Hrs. Trace recorded at 1550 meters, 4 cm at 1650 meters by 14:00 Hrs.

    Wednesday morning.

    Visibility was challenging at times.

    Multiple cloud layers.

    Some blue near the end of the day.

Weather Observations for April 20, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -5, Winds were 15-25 KPH S     --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters      -5, Winds were 20-25 KPH S     --Whistler Peak
1860 meters      -3, Winds were 10-15 KPH SE   --Rendevous
1835 meters      -3, Winds were 10-20 KPH SSW--Roundhouse
1650 meters      -1, 4 cm of new snow, 8 cm in 24 hrs, 370 cm Base, RH 95%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters      -1, 4 cm of new snow, 4 cm in 24 hrs, 272 cm Base, RH 96%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +7.9, 0.9 mm of Precip recorded yest

   As of 07:00 hrs this am we have broken cloud and variable visibility.


FORECAST:

An upper level trough will move through today with mostly overcast skies and some light intermittent precipitation in a Southerly flow aloft. The FL will hover in the 1600 meter range with a slight bump in the afternoon. We should also see some breaks in the cloud as the day progresses.  Later today the flow will become West to Northwesterly and we should see the high pressure begin to build tonight. Friday will be the first dry day in a while with mostly sunny skies and some lingering cloud. The FL is expected to spike at around 2200 meters tomorrow.  An upper level trough will move in for Saturday morning with overcast skies and light precipitation with the FL starting at around 2000 meters dropping to 1400 meters by Saturday night. A weak upper level trough will bring showery unsettled spring weather to the area Sunday into early next week.
Guesstimates: 1-3 cm by Friday morning, 0 cm for Saturday morning, 5-10 cm above 1800 meters for Sunday morning, 4-6 cm above 1800 meters for Monday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am. Still bands of moisture heading our way.

    Unsettled weather for today.

    Flow will switch later in the day.

   We may only see some clearing by tonight.

    High pressure for Friday.

   Low will send cloud our way early Saturday morning.

   Moist Saturday with some breaks possible on Sunday.


   OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Alpine was closed again yesterday due to a building avalanche hazard.

   Snow line was rising on Wednesday.

   Catskinner weather plot 1550 meters received a trace of new from 06:30 hrs to 14:30 Hrs.

   Nester's weather plot is losing all the snow fast.


ARTICLES:

Risk and Snow Sliding go hand in hand: Maxed Out

California's Current Snowpack is larger than the Previous 4 years combined: NASA

Judge allows avalanche death case to proceed against Vail: Colorado

Skiing helps us choose how to Live: Powder

April 19, 2017

   AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Avalanche control produced Sz 1-2 storm slabs Xe (explosives). Loose moist activity in the pm.

    Limited visibility but soft slabs Sz 1-2 Sc (ski cut), Sa (skier accidental), Na (natural) observed.


   YESTERDAY:

   There were some sucker holes early Tuesday April 18, 2017.

    Relatively dry at 08:30 Hours.

    Nice snow in the morning, early bird gets the turns!!

    Early Tuesday morning.

   A few occasional breaks yesterday, or just sucker holes!!

    Very soft snow at 1200 meters.

    Sundance                                                                                                              Doug Cavey Image

    No snow on the Golf Course.

    Spring conditions on the lower mountain.

    Sun almost came out in the pm.

    Looking like spring in the valley.

    Days end. Still winter in the alpine.

Weather Observations for April 19, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -6, Winds were 15-45 KPH SE  --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters      -5, Winds were 45-55 KPH SE  --Whistler Peak
1860 meters      -3, Winds were 10-30 KPH ESE--Rendevous
1835 meters      -3, Winds were 20-40 KPH SE  --Roundhouse
1650 meters      -2, 1 cm of new snow, 10 cm in 24 hrs, 368 cm Base, RH 88%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters      -2, trace of new snow,   7 cm in 24 hrs, 270 cm Base, RH 97%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +7.9, 14.4 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 hrs this a we have broken cloud and unlimited visibility.


FORECAST:

The persistent upper low off the coast will continue to send bands of precipitation at us in a Southwesterly flow aloft. Unsettled early this am but overcast skies will return sometime later in the morning. We can expect periods of snow in the alpine today with the FL hovering in the 1600 meter range, and moderate winds in the alpine as the frontal band arrives. The low will shift East on Thursday with a weak short lived ridge building Thursday night into Friday. Thursday will be unsettled with showers in the morning, improving as the day progresses. The ridge strengthens for Friday with a mix of sun and cloud. The temperatures should spike on Friday with the FL rising above the local peaks. A warm upper trough will move into the area on Saturday with intermittent showers, but mostly an overcast day. Cool showery unsettled weather is slated for early next week.
Guesstimates: 8-12 cm by Thursday morning, 1-5 cm by Friday morning, 0 cm by Saturday morning, 10-15 cm above 1800 meters for Sunday morning.

   GOES IR image from this am.

   Frontal band for Wednesday, slightly stronger than Tuesday's front.

   Overcast skies fr today.

    Unsettled for Thursday.

   High pressure builds Thursday night. Clear by Friday.

    Warmer temperatures for Friday, with a high pressure to our Southeast.

    Ridge strengthens for Friday.



    OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

   Clumpy snow early Tuesday morning.

    Snowing hard in the afternoon.

    Avalanche Awareness tours end at the end of this week.

   One of the few early season mushrooms left!!

    Avalanche closure for South Side above JC Chair.

    Alpine closed due to building avalanche hazard yesterday just after noon.

   Old Man's Beard was dripping away yesterday.

   New cornice growth on the Peak to Peak return station

ARTICLES:

Spring Forecasting--A Guide: Avalanche Canada

Jury to decide if Vail was at fault for Avalanche death: Colorado

Glacier Shape influences susceptibility to Thinning: Science Daily

North America's Biggest Vert & First Year round resort opens winter 2017-2018: Valemount