December 16, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    No new avalanches observed in the immediate area.



     YESTERDAY:

    Nice to see some cooler temps in the alpine.

    Visibility, tough mid mountain at times. The low level cloud seemed to have smoke in it.

    Fresh snow from early Friday, ideal conditions for frost in the trees.

    Just before sunset, hole at the end of the tunnel.


Weather Observations for December 16, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters    -10, Winds were 15-25 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters      -7, Winds were 10-20 KPH SW--Roundhouse
1660 meters      -7, 3 cm of new, 3 cm in 24 hrs  Base 139 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters      -2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +2.8, 2.4 mm of precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 hrs this am we have overcast skies and unlimited visibility.


FORECAST:

Unsettled this morning before a weak warm front pushes through today into Sunday. The upper flow is Northwesterly this am, switching to Westerly later today. The FL will begin to climb to around 1000 meters tonight and max out at around 1500 tomorrow afternoon. A cold front will trail this non producer with cooling temperatures and decent snowfall Monday night into Tuesday. Hopefully this active front with a fairly deep low will track over the area with a much needed dump. Unfortunately, the upper ridge will return for Wednesday into Friday. There is a chance the low will dip south, difficult to really say how much we will get until Monday.
Guesstimates: Trace-2 cm by Sunday morning, 4-8 cm by Monday morning, 10-20 cm by Tuesday morning, 20-40 cm by Wednesday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Northwesterly flow aloft will switch to Westerly this afternoon.

    Warm Westerly flow this afternoon.

     Rex Block with the lows to the North and South of the High on Sunday.





    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Interesting choice!

    Some fresh snow, even the raven was unhappy with the moist cold weather on Friday afternoon.

    Great breaks at times yesterday.

Observations from Sam McKoy through Mountain Conditions Report:

Rohr Lake Area

Spent 3 days (Dec 13-15) camped below Rohr Lake. Conditions varied widely.

Surface facetting made for decent skiing in sheltered troughs and shaded low lying areas which exceeded expectations. Most other surfaces had been affected by warm temperatures and included breakable crust or windpressed.

Evidence of one isolated size 2-2.5 on a SE aspect near Cayoosh that might have occurred in the warming temperatures down ~30-45 on the late November Crust. No other signs of instability.

Snowpack for us ranged from 1.5 at treeline and up to 2.5 meters in sheltered alpine areas.

No test results. Heavily consolidated and hard snowpack. In 1.5m test pits, the late November crust was buried down ~35cm with the Halloween crust down ~65cm.

A few new centimetres of new snow the morning of the 15th and more falling as we were leaving the mountains. The bond to the old surfaces will remain questionable and surface instabilities may be the reigning concern in future days.

Avalanche Canada MIN Report: Duffy Lake Road

ARTICLES:

Heuristic Traps: Andrew McLean

Early snowfall brings avalanche warning  for Alp Ski Resorts: The Times

No trace of 5 soldiers caught in avalanches: Northern India

December 15, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    No new avalanche activity locally.


    YESTERDAY:

    Nice sky before sunrise Thursday morning. Sunrise was officially at 08:04 Hrs.

    Scattered cloud and valley cloud in the am.

    Valley cloud dissipated.

    Great light yesterday. Ice layer looks ominous.

    The sun is so low the light is always changing.

    Just before sunset. Yesterday it was at 16:10 Hrs.


Weather Observations for December 15, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters    -4, Winds were 35-40 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters    -2, Winds were 15-30 KPH SSW--Roundhouse
1660 meters     0, 2 cm of new, 2 cm in 24 hrs  Base 136 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters   +2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +2.1, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

    GOES IR image for this am.

    Cooler temperatures and the flow will slowly shift to Northwesterly.


FORECAST:

A very weak cold front will pass through today in a Southwest flow aloft. We can expect intermittent flurries and the FL will slowly lower from 1700 meters down to surface by this evening. Cooler temperatures tonight as the flow switches to Northwesterly, with breaks tonight into early Saturday morning. Flurries again for Saturday with mostly overcast skies. A weak warm front arrives Saturday night into Sunday with the Fl rising to 1400 meters and light snowfall expected. Unsettled weather is forecasted for Monday with a low pushing onshore for the evening with light snow and cooler temperatures. We might get a decent amount of snow on Tuesday, more on that as we get closer.
Guesstimates: Trace-2 cm by Saturday morning, 1-3 cm by Sunday morning, 5-10 cm by Monday morning, 8-12 cm by Tuesday morning.



    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Awesome sky yesterday.

    Clouds increased as the day progressed.

    Yesterday.


VIDEO FRIDAY:

Fast moving avalanche: France

More avalanche footage from France: Les Arcs

Ski Tourer outruns avalanche at Mt Hood: 12-10-2017


ARTICLES:

B.C.'s remote avalanche-control system ready for the avalanche season: BCTV News

What do long-term weather patterns mean for Avalanche Risk: Pique

3 Tips to keep you alive in Avalanche terrain: Backcountry Skiing Blog

December 14, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Nothing to report locally, big avalanche cycle in parts of Europe.

    An avalanche in Switzerland has claimed an off piste skier. Story in article section.    Net Pic

    An avalanche has killed a German skier in Austria. Story below.


    YESTERDAY:

    More blue in the morning.

    Bands of cloud to the South.

    High scattered cirrus cloud in the afternoon.

    Grey just before sunset.

    Wednesday morning.



Weather Observations for December 14, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters    +3, Winds were 5-15 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters    +5, Winds were 5-10 KPH ESE--Roundhouse
1660 meters    +2, 0 cm of new, 0 cm in 24 hrs  Base 136 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters     -2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +4.7, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

FORECAST:

The strong ridge of high pressure will begin to flatten today with an increase in cloud through the day. The upper flow will begin to shift to Westerly and the FL is around 3500 meters. A weak cold front will move onshore with some very light precipitation and the FL will drop to near surface by Friday night. Possible break Friday night into Saturday morning before a warm front moves onshore with the FL rising to 1000 meters on Saturday, then up to 1500 meters on Sunday. Another break before another cold front pushes through on Monday night into Tuesday.
Guesstimates: trace-3 cm by Friday morning, trace-1 cm by Saturday morning, 3-5 cm by Sunday morning .

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Ridge flattens today with s slow drop in the FL.

     Westerly flow cooler temps.

     High still pushing back on Saturday.




INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Crust is going to be a problem!!

    Warmer as the day progressed.

    Avalanche course in Lakeside.

    High overcast for most of the day to the West.

ARTICLES:

Avalanche kills off piste skier near Ovronnaz in Valais: Switzerland

Avalanche kills German skier near Serfaus-Ladis in Tirol: Austria

Blizzards raise risk of avalanches in Scottish Mountains: SAIS

Hope fades for soldiers missing in avalanches: Kashmir

Future weak layer in the Bridgar Range: Montana

December 13, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    No local avalanche activity, update on avalanches in India in article section.


    YESTERDAY:

    Scattered cloud Tuesday am, quickly became mostly cloudy before dissipating later in the Pm.

    Last Quarter.

    Cloudy over the Tantalus Range in the am as well.

    Less cloud to the south Tuesday morning.

    High scattered cloud in the afternoon.

    Mount Garibaldi later in the afternoon. Blue Bird.



Weather Observations for December 13, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters    -4, Winds were 10-25 KPH NNE--Whistler Peak
1835 meters    -2, Winds were   5-10 KPH NE   --Roundhouse
1660 meters    -3, 0 cm of new, 0 cm in 24 hrs  Base 130 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters    -2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +3.4, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

FORECAST:

Deja Vu, high will build again today in a Northwesterly flow aloft , but the FL will rise to 3200 meters, after a cooler day on Tuesday. We can expect mostly sunny skies for today. More of the same for Thursday with an increase in cloud as the day progresses. Unsettled weather for Friday, as a very weak cold front pushes onshore with scattered flurries and the FL ranging from 1500 m to 1000 m by the evening. More unsettled weather expected for the weekend but models are differing so time will tell.

    GOES IR image from this am.

     Ridge will keep the area mostly sunny today with a rising Freezing Level.

    Low will push the high South with a change by early Friday morning.

    Tuesday morning, mostly cloudy.

    Tuesday afternoon, less cloud, mostly sunny.


INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Awesome day on Howe Sound.

    Was +8 along the coast.

    Just before sunset Tuesday evening.

Sea to Sky Advisory:

With spring-like conditions continuing to dominate the region, be aware of changing snow conditions during the day and from one aspect to another. Once the crust melts there may be areas of wet snow on steep, sunny slopes or near rocky outcrops.





ARTICLES:

5 soldiers missing, one porter dead after avalanches in Gurez: Northern India

Three skiers convicted after causing avalanche that injured two others: Switzerland

Braving snow avalanches is a challenge, says army: India

Avalanche warnings in France: Pistehors.com