31 Mar 2018

March 31, 2018


    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Locally, no new avalanches observed.


    YESTERDAY:

    Unsettled Friday morning.

    Visibility in the alpine was difficult early morning.

        Snow was nice.

    Cloudier in the morning.

    Great skiing in 7Th Heaven.

    Later in the day.

    Just before sunset.

    Friday Afternoon.

    Big picture Friday.


Weather Observations for March 31, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters     -7, Winds were 5-10 KPH SE--Whistler Peak
1835 meters     -6, Winds were 5-10 KPH E  --Roundhouse
1660 meters     -7, 0 cm of new, 0 cm in 24 hrs  Base 297 cm --Pig Alley
  660 meters     -2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +10.1, trace of precip recorded yest


    As of 07:00 Hrs we have scattered cloud and unlimited visibility.



FORECAST:

Mostly clear skies this am in a Northwesterly flow aloft. The freezing level will rise to around 1500 meters today by this afternoon, and we will see some cloud development later this am. A weak front
will push through later today with overcast skies and some periods of light snow by tonight. Sunday is looking overcast with periods of light snow with a cold front pushing through later in the day. Monday is looking unsettled before a series of frontal bands brings snow Tuesday into Thursday.

Guesstimates: 2-4 cm by Sunday morning, 5-20 cm by Monday morning (depends on the cold front),
2-4 cm by Tuesday morning, 5-10 cm by Wednesday morning.


    GOES IR image this am.


     A high, low, and Arctic front on the doorstep.

    Mostly sunny this am.

    Low moving down the coast.

    Fronts along the coast.


    Weak frontal band for Sunday. Cold temps.

    Some clearing by Monday morning.



INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Snow in the bowls was skiing well.

    Rime at the upper elevations.

   Be careful of cornice debris if the visibility is bad.

    Mickey Mouse Cloud.

Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Reports:

Tantulus

Disease South

Steep Creek



ARTICLES:

Snow stacked high as crews begin plowing Glacier's Sun Road: Montana


30 Mar 2018

March 30, 2018


    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche kills a ski tourer on Zackengrat in Valais, Switzerland. Story below.           Net Pic

    An avalanche kills a climber on Mrzla Gora in Solcava, Slovenia.                                        Net Pic

                  Avalanche photo submitted by Australo Piteque from Brandywine area.

    A Sz 3 Sy avalanche in North Creek has killed a guide near Pemberton. Articles below.

    Locally, no new avalanches observed yesterday.



    YESTERDAY:

    Early Thursday morning at 1000 meters.

    Breaking out of the mid mountain cloud layer.

    Just above the tree line.

    A few breaks in the valley.

    Multiple layers!!

    Valley clouds did lift as well!!


    Nice snow on some aspects.

    Clouds did make for an interesting day.

    Good visibility close to the rocks.

    Thursday Afternoon.

    Big Picture Thursday afternoon.


Weather Observations for March 30, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters     -6, Winds were 45-65 KPH SW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters     -3, Winds were 25-55 KPH SW --Roundhouse
1660 meters     -1, trace of new, trace in 24 hrs  Base 299 cm --Pig Alley
  660 meters    +3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +5.8, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest


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



FORECAST:

A weak frontal band is slowly exiting to the East in a Northwesterly flow aloft. Mostly overcast skies this am will slowly transition to broken cloud by this afternoon with some sunny breaks. The FL will rise to 1700 meters today and drop back down to 1000 meters by tonight. A weak upper trough will push through Saturday morning for mostly overcast conditions but the air mass is fairly dry with just some intermittent precipitation. The FL will be at around 1600 meters and drop to 900 meters Saturday night with some temporary breaks. A colder upper level trough will push through on Sunday with the FL dropping to 900 meters during the day, then to surface in the evening. The front will exit sometime Monday morning with unsettled weather expected for Monday afternoon into Tuesday. A more active front is forecasted to arrive on Wednesday.

Guesstimates: Trace-1 cm by Saturday morning, trace-1 cm by Sunday morning, 5-15 cm by Monday morning (more on this as we get closer), 2-6 cm by Tuesday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Low is moving East, Warm dirty ridge just South. Warming trend.

    Some breaks this am.

    Unsettled this afternoon.

    Fronts along the coast.


    Weak frontal band Saturday morning.


     Possible breaks Saturday night.


    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Good visibility in the alpine Thursday morning.

    Not much traffic in the backcounry!

    Visibility was challenging at times.

    Amazing where cornices can grow!!

    Very thin crust at treeline Southwest facing.

    We do have some awesome rock formations!!

    There is always good snow somewhere.


Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Report:

Vantge Ridge

Peak West of Tremor



From South Coast Touring:


Yvan Gaston Sabourin
March 29 at 10:00pm
If you have the opportunity this is a good time to dig and gather some personal information regarding snowpack . In many places you’ll find a weak crust and 5cm’s below is a SH layer. Test are still easy to moderate. On Northerly aspects. This is a good time to be conservative in our mountain range.



VIDEO FRIDAY:

Wet Snow avalanche buries cars: Russia

Different perspective of the above: Mt Elbrus

2017/2018 Avalanches caught on Camera: You Tube

Hard Slam: Jerry of the Day

Ski Longer, Harder: ROAM



ARTICLES:

Avalanche kills climber on Mrzla Gora in Solcava: Slovenia

Avalanche kills Ski tourer on Zackengrat in Valais: Switzerland

Warning about backcountry safety after skier dies in avalanche near Pemberton: 11:30 News

Heli-Ski Guide dies in a tragic avalanche accident: Pemberton

What is the risk in the Alps these days: Avalanche Report

NASA Visualises the dance of a melting snowflake: Science Daily

Icefields parkway shutting down for Avalanche Work: March 29-31, 2018

Family cancel vacation after receiving photo of cornice above their vacation property: Norway