March 29, 2018

     AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

     Thanks to Jennifer Hebert for submitting this image from Sproat, yesterday.

    Recent avalanche activity on Sproat.                                                                    Jennifer Hebert Pic

    Avalanche activity to the South of Whistler. Na Sz 2.5 cornice induced slab. Panorama Ridge.

    Skier Accidental above Keith's Hut yest, check out MIN report below.      MacKenzie Irwin Pic

    Locally, Sz 1-2 Xc. Several Nc observed in area. Sz 1-2 Na. Possible Fatality?  Waiting for info.


    YESTERDAY:

    Mid mountain early Wednesday morning.

    Coming out of the cloud.

    High overcast but good visibility in the alpine.

    Valley cloud eventually lifted and obscured the alpine.

    Whistler peak before lunch.

    It did clear off in the afternoon.

    Great skiing in the steeps.

    High cirrus cloud in the afternoon.

    More cloud later in the day.

    Just before sunset which was at 19:36 Hrs on Wednesday.

    Wednesday afternoon.

    Big picture on Wednesday.


Weather Observations for March 29, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters     -7, Winds were 25-35 KPH WSW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters     -5, Winds were   5-10 KPH SE    --Roundhouse
1660 meters     -5, trace of new, trace in 24 hrs  Base 303 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters      0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +9.8, 0.2 mm of precip recorded yest

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



FORECAST:

The dirty ridge  and low to the North will give us mostly overcast skies with periods of light precipitation in a Northwesterly flow aloft. The FL will likely go up to 1500 meters by the afternoon and hover in that range into tomorrow.  Friday morning is looking mostly overcast and then the weak frontal band breaks up with some unsettled weather for Friday afternoon into the evening. Another weak frontal band will push through on Saturday in a Westerly flow aloft, it is looking dry so mostly overcast conditions will prevail. Models are not agreeing on the outcome for the weekend, so I am going with overcast skies for Sunday with light snow and the FL dropping to around 800 meters. Unsettled weather is likely for early next week with a weak front arriving Tuesday evening.
Guesstimates: 4-6 cm by Friday morning, trace-1 cm by Saturday morning, 2-6 cm by Sunday morning, 6-12 cm by Monday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

     Dirty high will bring slightly warmer temps and overcast skies for today.

    Low has pushed the high just to our South.

    Freezing level should hover just below 1500 meters.

    Fronts along the coast.

    Overcast Friday morning.

    Sunny breaks in the afternoon.

    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Most bowls have avalanche debris in them.

    Whistler Bowl.

    Steeps were skiing well on Wednesday.

    Come out and support this worthy cause. Click here for more Whistler Fundraiser

    Pinwheel.

    Some wind affect.

    Nice sky near the end of the day.

    Maximum temperature in the valley yesterday at 660 meters was +8.6 Deg C.



Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Report:

Oboe

Sz 1 Sa above Keith's Hut

Marriot Basin




From South Coast Touring:

	Mitchell Sulkers March 28 at 7:23pm
Out to Fissile to have a look at what yesterday's winds had done to all that fine pow. Windcrust to 15cm over much lower density on most windward aspects. Crust varied from fully supportive where solar had helped strengthen it to breakable two cm crust on east and west aspects.  Got one lap on a true south facing slope with two cms of corn overtop of the supportable crust, which did bring back dreams of springtime...  Skiing was still good on anything with a northern asp factor in it, as was skiing in trees down to 1700m. Windslabs to 60cm evident in isolated areas just below ridgetops, but no recent activity or ski cuts, aside from a Cornice 1.0 natural just below a ridgecrest.  Not a lot of people out today...

	Bram Whillock March 28 at 4:45pm
Skier Remote today while making up track in Vista Bowl. Many whumpfs in this area on this aspect. Facet crust combo on non polar aspects. We skied east col spine, Vista chute, and upper husume with wind affected snow but no signs of instability.

ARTICLES:

Avalanche danger isolates Arctic Communities: Norway

Event to teach girls ski patrol skills: Idaho

West Greenland Ice Sheet melting at the fastest rate in Centuries: Science Daily

March 28, 2018

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    From Rainbow Mtn area yesterday, Vr (snowmobile remote)                       James Cattanach Pic

    Rainbow Mtn area.                                                                                         James Cattanach Pic

    Locally, AC produced Sz 1-2 Xe, Xy, Xc. Windslabs and Cornice drops.

    Reports of some Sz 2.5 Na on the Duffey. Read Seven Mile MIN report below. Sz 3 Xg in 51.


   

   YESTERDAY:

    Snow line at 1000 meters on Tuesday morning.

    There were a few awesome breaks in the morning.

    Surface was skiing well.

    Periods of bad visibility, at times elevation specific.

    Clouds were moving up and down and all around!!

    At times thick fast and furious.

    Mount Davidson in the foreground.

    Weekend Chutes.

    Clearing by days end, full moon will be on March 31, 2018. Blue Moon

    Tuesday afternoon.

    Big picture Tuesday.

Weather Observations for March 28, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters     -7, Winds were 25-35 KPH S      --Whistler Peak
1835 meters     -5, Winds were 10-25 KPH SSW --Roundhouse
1660 meters     -4, 0 cm of new, trace in 24 hrs  Base 304 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters    +1, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +9.9, 5.4 mm of precip recorded yest

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



FORECAST:

A weak dirty ridge is building along the B.C. coast bringing unsettled weather this am in a Northwesterly flow aloft. The air mass is moist and stable so we can expect increasing cloud cover later this morning into the pm. The FL could reach 1500 meters this afternoon. Overcast Thursday with periods of snow flurries and a FL rising to 1700 meters. Friday is similar with overcast skies, sporadic flurries and a FL of 1700 meters, cooling in the evening to 1000 meters with breaks in the cloud cover. Unsettled weather is expected for the weekend with slightly cooler temperatures.
Guesstimates: trace -1 cm by Thursday morning, 2-6 cm by Friday morning, 1-3 cm by Saturday morning, trace -1 cm by Sunday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Weak diry ridge along the coast. Warming temps.

    Unsettled this am.

More cloud this afternoon.

    Fronts along the coast.

    Mostly cloudy Thursday.

    Some flurries.


    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Airtime.

    Wind affect Tuesday morning.

    Pinwheeling after the sun came out.

    Warming temps had snow bombs coming out of the trees. 0 Deg at 1860 meters at 14:00 hrs.

    Some slabby snow in the morning but mostly wind pressed.

    Exposed tracks from the strong variable winds Monday night..

    Snow texture was great in many areas.

    Catskinner now has a base of 236 cm as of 14:30 hrs Tuesday. Temp was +1 Deg.

    Unsettled at 18:00 Hrs on Tuesday evening.


Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Report:

Seven Mile



ARTICLES:

Skier is in critical shape after cornice collapse: Jackson Hole

Warmer winters leading to rise in number of avalanches in Western Himalyas: University of Geneva

Avalanche Forecast for Nordenskiold Land: Norway

A flurry of research illuminates snow's foes: High Country News