February 27, 2018

     AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche has killed a ski tourer on Le Rocher du Midi in Vaud, Switzerland. Story below.

    Two teenage boys killed in Snoqualmie avalanche Sunday. Story below.                             Net Pic

    An avalanche on Dude Mtn. near Ketchikan, AK has killed a snowboarder. Story Below. Net Pic

    Point releases from Monday. Locally, Sz 1-2.5 observed Sc, Sa, Na in Sea to Sky Corridor.

    Older slide just over the traverse to the Poop Chutes. Yesterday AC produced 1- Sz 1Xe.


    YESTERDAY:

    Blue Bird on Monday morning.

    Awesome light in the morning.

    Lenticular Cloud over Armchair Monday am.

    Clouds began to push in from the South.

    Wind affect on exposed areas.

    Monday afternoon.

    Great turns to be had!!

    Front started pushing in later in the afternoon.

   Flurries at days end.

    Monday PM.

    Big picture Monday afternoon.

Weather Observations for February 27, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters   -11, Winds were 50-75 KPH S--Whistler Peak
1835 meters     -8, Winds were 25-65 KPH S --Roundhouse
1660 meters     -6, 4 cm of new, 4 cm in 24 hrs  Base 296 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters     -2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +1.4, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 hrs this am we have overcast skies, limited visibility and it is snowing.


FORECAST:

A weak front will push through today in a Northwest flow aloft. Light snow transitioning to showers with the FL rising tom as high as 1000 meters. Wednesday will see a similar day with snow showers transitioning to a strong front Wednesday night with moderate/heavy snow and the FL hovering just above surface. A cool upper level trough will arrive Thursday morning for unsettled weather by the afternoon and into Saturday.
Guesstimates:4-8 cm by Wednesday morning, 20-35 Thursday morning, depending on how nice the low is to us, 2-6 cm by Friday morning, 2-4 cm by Saturday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    A weak frontal system will push through today with warmer temperatures.

    Light snow for today.

    Not sure about the sunny breaks? In Whistler!

    Fronts along the coast.

     Low will bring strong winds and Moderate to Heavy snow fall Wednesday night.

    Low will send snow our way.

    Looking good for Wednesday night.


    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Clouds to the South in the Am.

    Wind affect on West facing slopes.

    Surface Hoar forming.

    The cord was nice on Monday.

    The pow was nice as well!!

    Lots of folk heading into the backcountry.

    Fracture line from Sunday.

    The Table

    The Black Tusk

    Nice snow in lower protected areas on Monday.


Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Reports:

Duffey Lake

Van Horlick Creek



ARTICLES:

Two teens killed in Snoqualmie avalanche Sunday: Bellvue, Wash.

A snowboarder has died in an avalanche on Dude Mountain near Ketchikan: Alaska

An avalanche has killed a ski tourer on Le Rocher du Midi in Vaud: Switzerland

2 Aspiring Mountain Guides injured in Colorado Avalanche tell story: Snowbrains

Slide blocks rugged North Cascades Hwy: Washington State

Montana Avalanche Centre Director studies avalanche risk: Whitefish

The North Pole just surged above freezing in the dead of winter: Washington Post

February 26, 2018

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    A ski tourer has been killed in an avalanche near Gastaad, Switzerland. Story in article section.

    An avalanche has killed 3 hunters in Lolab Valley, Kashmir. Information in article section: Net Pic

    An avalanche has killed a snowmobiler on Stampede Pass, Washington State. Info below.   Net Pic

    Natural avalanches observed in the area yesterday am.

    Locally, Limited AC Sz 1-1.5 Xe Sc. One Sz 2 observed in the surrounding area. lots of naturals.


    YESTERDAY:

    Wall of Gray to the Southwest early in the am.

    Mostly overcast early Sunday morning.

    Creekside Sunday morning.

    Patches of blue to the West Sunday morning.

    Nice light!

    Unsettled in the afternoon.

    Sunday afternoon.

    Big picture on Sunday afternoon.

Weather Observations for February 26, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters   -13, Winds were 15-20 KPH SE--Whistler Peak
1835 meters   -12, Winds were   5-10 KPH SE --Roundhouse
1660 meters   -14, 1 cm of new, 1 cm in 24 hrs  Base 298 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters   -13, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +2.4, 8.3 mm of precip recorded yest

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

FORECAST:

Cool unsettled weather for today in a Northwest flow aloft. Sunny this morning before an upper level trough brings cloud and flurries to the area this afternoon. The trough pushes through tomorrow with light snow and overcast skies. A more vigorous front will pass through on Wednesday with light/moderate snowfall. Thursday at this time is looking unsettled, with dry conditions into Friday.
The FL looks to stay mostly at surface for the week. May get a small spike on Tuesday up to 1000 meters.
Guesstimates: 1-5 cm by Tuesday morning, 4-8 cm by Wednesday morning, 15-25 cm by Thursday morning, 1-3 cm by Friday morning.

    GOES IR image this am.

    High and arctic front are keeping it cool.

    Clear this am.

    Unsettled later in the day.

    Fronts along the coast.

    Trough for Tuesday.

    Some breaks possible Tuesday afternoon, but unlikely.


    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Sz 1-1.5 Na in the backcountry yesterday.

    Excellent snow Sunday.

    Unsettled in the afternoon.

         Nice turns to be had inbounds as well.

    Periods of snow yesterday, trace of new during the day.

Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Reports:

Sproatt

Whistler Backcountry

Joffre Lakes


From South Coast Touring:

Jim Morrison February 25 at 8:59am

For those willing to endure a longer approach, Black Tusk area is in prime time now. Even the higher slopes were very good for skiing with the wind crust very manageable. 4x4 and winter tires get you within 1-2km of the summer trail-head and the trail is covered good enough for skinning up. We took an amazing detour on our way down and from Taylor meadows we cut across to the Garibaldi lake via some nice creek that was covered all the way to where it met the normal Garibaldi trail. The Barrier was in fine shape as well with not enough snow for sliding(but perfect for skiing) on the the very steep portions and just a bit of debris lower in the valley. A reminder to keep skiers right as soon as you see the open creek, crossing it as early as possible: it is possible now to get on the correct side of the creek without bootpacking through the creek(I wish we would've seen this before we were too low). The run through the valley is pure bliss with tons of nice POW, save for the last 100m where you need to bushwhack a bit to get out within 500m of the summer trail head: we got a bit wet at this last crossing but who cares when you are almost at the car. 27km, 8.5h, 1600m elevation gain. Sorry, no photos yet :( Jean-Nicholas Di Marzo February 25 at 12:47am ~40cm deep x 7m wide skier triggered slab off an east facing line on Phalanx today. This popped on what seemed to be the side edge of the slab as a group skiers contoured a sketchy knol to regain mellower and more supported terrain. Just another reminder to use caution when choosing terrain and to stay weary of windslab on all aspects ~40cm deep x 7m wide skier triggered slab off an east facing line on Phalanx today. This popped on w...

ARTICLES:

Avalanches claims a ski tourer near Gstaad in Bern: Switzerland

1 Killed, others injured in an avalanche in the Cascades: Washington State

Avalanche kills three hunters in Lolab Valley near Kupwara: Northern India

Avalanches claim at least 3 lives over the weekend: Switzerland

High Avalanche Danger : Snoqualmie Pass