February 4, 2018

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche has killed two people on Campo Felice, Italy. Story in article section.             Net Pic

    Locally, AC produced a few Sz 1-1.5 with Xe Xc. Cornice drops.

    Old fracture line on ID Low.

    Cornice control continues, watch for debris in the bowls.


     YESTERDAY:

    Breaks in the morning.

    Flute.

    Limited visibility at the top yesterday.

    Park was busy!!

    Valley cloud layer was thick, upper elevations also had a thick layer at times. Mid mountain best!!

    Nice light below tree line.

    Warm front eventually moved in with some light precipitation.

    Saturday afternoon.

    Big picture Saturday afternoon.


Weather Observations for February 4, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters     -1, Winds were 50-70 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters    +2, Winds were 25-50 KPH SSW--Roundhouse
1660 meters    +1, 3 cm of new, 3 cm in 24 hrs  Base 303 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters      0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +4.9, 4.6 mm of precip recorded yest

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

FORECAST:

A warm front is moving East through the area in a strong Northwest flow aloft. Today we can expect wet, warm, and windy conditions with the freezing level slowly dropping to 1500 meters. Monday looks overcast in the morning with unsettled weather forecasted for the afternoon and evening. Looks to be warmish and dry with the FL dropping to 1000 meters by the evening. Weak warm frontal bands will persist into next weekend.
Guesstimates: 4-8 cm by Monday morning, trace-1 cm by Tuesday morning, 2-4 cm by Wednesday morning, 4-8 cm by Thursday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    High is winning the battle, hopefully the arctic front will cool things down!!

    Warm front pushing through this am.

    Cooler temperatures, hopefully as the day progresses.

    Fronts on the coast.

    Arctic front may not get close enough to make a difference.



    OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Some nice breaks in the morning.

    Thick rime at 2240 meters.

    Avalanche practise on the Size 3 debris in Lakeside.

    Fresh cornice development.

    +1 Deg C at 1550 meters on Saturday. No new precip as of 14:00 Hrs with a base of 236 cm.

    Looking for seeds on a wind scoured slope.

    Some areas get regularly scoured.

   Come out and support this worthy cause.


Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Reports:

Sky Pilot Area

Mt Chief Pascal Slide


ARTICLES:

Two people have been killed by an avalanche in Campo Felice: Italy

Sustained snowfall creates extreme avalanche risk in Interior B.C.: Avalanche Canada

Obsesses with Backcountry Skiing: Jerry Painter

Avalanche Awareness Workshop: Washington State

Avalanche Bulletin: Glacier National Park

February 3, 2018

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    A snowmobiler has been killed in an avalanche near Valemount, B.C. Story below.      Net Pic

    An avalanche has killed 3 soldiers in Kashmir. Story in article section.                            Net Pic

    An avalanche has killed a ski tourer in the Vasges Mtns in France. Story below.                 Net Pic

    Locally, AC  yesterday Sc (ski cuts) produced Sz 1 soft slabs. Corince control (Xc) -Sz 1.5-2.5.


    YESTERDAY:

    Overcast in the morning.

    Some breaks later in the am.

    Snowing in the Callaghan Friday morning.

    Around 12:00 Hrs on Friday.

    Same time line as above image. Occluded front pushed through yesterday.

    Biker gang!!

    Valley at 14:00 Hrs, +2 Deg C.

    There is alot of snow in the Callaghan Valley.

    Visibility was tough in the alpine at times.                                                                           GD Pic

    Friday afternoon.

    Big picture on Friday.



Weather Observations for February 3, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters     -3, Winds were 35-55 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters     -1, Winds were 15-30 KPH S      --Roundhouse
1660 meters     -1, 1 cm of new, 9 cm in 24 hrs  Base 306 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters    +3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +3.6, 8.2 mm of precip recorded yest

FORECAST:

A series of warm troughs will continue to push through the area in a Northwesterly flow aloft for the next few days. Today will be mostly overcast but relatively dry with the freezing level hovering in the 1800 meter level. Groundhog day for Sunday with light precipitation and warm temperatures. Monday is looking like a cloudy dry day with the FL slowly dropping from 1400 m to 1100 m by days end. The pattern continues into the week with a series of weak warm frontal bands. Too bad the arcticc front is not able to push the high a bit further Southwest!! Grumblings of sunny weather by the end of the week, that would be nice
Guesstimates: 5-10 cm by Sunday morning above 1600 meters, 5-10 cm by Monday morning, trace to 1 cm by Tuesday morning, 2-6 cm by Wednesday morning.

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

    Low, High, and Arctic Front are mixing it up. Arcic front is pushing closer.

    A weak warm front for today.

    Warm air from the High will bring the FL up to 1800 meters today.

    Fronts along the coast.

    Warm again on Sunday.


    OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Snowing Friday morning.

    Rimed icicles.

    How much snow can a tree support?

    Yes, there is even alot of snow on WB!!

    Duffey Lake Area                                                                                           Jeff Van Driel Image     

Yesterday on the Duffey we had variable and gusty winds with moderate precipitation and warming temperatures producing slightly upside down conditions in the alpine and open areas at treeline. 10-20cm 4F over F+ soft slab conditions. Surface snow turned moist at 1600m and below by this afternoon.

We saw evidence of 2 recent sz 1.5 wind slabs down 20cm on N-NE aspects around 2050m.

After a round of avalanche control on Path 51.0 producing 2 size 3.0's among others on Wednesday morning, we investigated a number of crown lines over the past couple of days. The fracture lines in 51.0 on N-NW aspects 2100-2300m were 80-100cm deep and ran on the January 6 rain crust. We also investigated 3 separate size 2.0 deep releases on Chief Pascal from earlier this week. Crown line depths averaged 120-150cm, max being 190cm, on wind loaded, steep, unsupported features with a snowpack height of 270-310cm. 2 of these avalanches slid on the December 14 facets and one slid on the November 26 crust. Evidence of 3 more deep releases to size 2.0 in immediate area from earlier this week as well.

Cheers

Jeff

                                                                                                                                                               Jeff Van Driel Image

                                                                                                           Jeff Van Driel Image

                                                                                                                            Jeff Van Driel Image

                                                                                                        Jeff Van Driel Image

                                                                                                                                Jeff Van Driel Image

                                                                                                                              Jeff Van Driel Image

                                                                                                                           Jeff Van Driel Image

Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Reports:

Duffey Area, Jan 27-31

Cayoosh Pass



ARTICLES:

Snowmobiler dies in an avalanche in Clemina Creek: Valemount, B.C.

3 Soldiers Killed, 1 injured in an avalanche in the Machil Sector: Kashmir

An avalanche has killed a ski tourer in the Vasges Mountains: France

A Bow Valley man is lucky to be alive after being buried by a Sz 3 Avalanche: Banff

That Fresh Powder can end in deadly 'Snow Immersion": What you need to Know

Avoid backcountry due to Avalanche Risk: Parks Canada

Avalanche risk high in some elevations this weekend: CTV News

Human Factor only controllable Avalanche Hazard: Bill Jennings