April 17, 2018

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Recent slab from a cornice release.

    Slab from cornice drop.

    Recent wet loose. Locally, avalanche control produced a Sz 2 Xc. Sz 1 wet loose Na & Sc.


    YESTERDAY:

    Raining in the valley early Monday morning.

    Snow line at around 1000 meters.

    Warm moist air mass.

    Noon at 1835 meters, -2 winds were 10-20 from the North.

    Dark and wet later in the day.

    Just before sunset Monday evening which was 20:06 Hrs. +4 Deg C.

    Monday afternoon.

    Big picture Monday.


Weather Observations for April 17, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters     -7, Winds were 10-15 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters     -5, Winds were 30-35 KPH SSW--Roundhouse
1660 meters     -3, 7 cm of new, 9 cm in 24 hrs  Base 322 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters    +3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +9.6, 0.9 mm of precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs we have a few breaks and variable visibility.

FORECAST:

The low from yesterday is moving East with lingering instability in its wake. We can expect some breaks this morning in a Westerly-Northwesterly flow aloft. Mostly cloudy this afternoon with periods of light precipitation. The FL will hover in the 1400 meter range.  A weak ridge builds for Wednesday bringing unsettled weather to the area with the FL reaching 1700 meters, improving Thursday with mostly sunny skies and a FL hovering in the 1800 meter range. A Pacific front is expected Friday with light/moderate precipitation and the FL dropping to around 1500 meters.
Guesstimates: 1-3 cm by Wednesday morning, 0 cm by Thursday morning, 0 cm by Friday.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Unstable atmosphere today with mostly cloudy weather and periods of precipitation.

    Some breaks this morning.

    Snow flurries this afternoon.

    Fronts along the coast.

    Unsettled Wednesday.

    Mostly sunny later Wednesday.


    OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Waterfall on the Soo River.

    Afternoon snow squall Monday.

    Cornices are still fragile.

    Just a bit of ice left at the North end of Green Lake.



      From South Coast Touring, Sz 3 2 days ago in the Brandywine. Anton Horvath Image.

    Phalanx Glacier                                                                              Goar Bermudez Garcia Pic

Goar Bermúdez García

4 hrs

Report from yesterday Sunday, skinning back from Phalanx Glacier to poop chutes saw this. North aspect, start zone around 2000m, around 1m deep, size 2.5-3? and looks like went natural during last storm cycle on the late March persistent slab problem. Stay safe out there.

Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Report:

Great Skiing

Wind Slab

West Lion Slab


ARTICLES:

Couple caught in Kootney Pass Avalanche: Trail Times

Looking beyond instability: Backcountry Magazine

Avalanche season reached 222 snow slides for the season: Scotland

Avalanche Control: Kicking Horse

Spring snowpack still dangerous for backcountry skiers despite moderate to low forecast: Colorado

Is this an unusually poor spring in the Pacific Northwest: Cliff Mass Weather Blog

April 16, 2018

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche has killed a solo skier in the Bridger Range, Montana. Story below.       Net Pic

    Avalanche activity from the Hurley/South Chilcotin area. Info below.  Connie Amelunxen Photo

    Local recent activity.

    Glide Cracks

    Locally, AC produced Sz 1.5-2 Sc. Na observed yesterday Sz 1-2.


    YESTERDAY:

    Unsettled in the morning.

    Some cloud around.

    11:00 Hrs yesterday morning, at 1835 meters.

    Lesser Ring Mountain.

    Looking South

    Cornice tabs are fragile.

    Near the end of the day, more cloud pushing in from the low to our South.

    Sunday afternoon.

    Big picture on Sunday.


Weather Observations for April 16, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters     -6, Winds were 15-25 KPH NNE  --Whistler Peak
1835 meters     -5, Winds were   5-15 KPH NNW--Roundhouse
1660 meters    - 3, 1 cm of new, 2 cm in 24 hrs  Base 318 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters    +4, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +11.5, 0.8 mm of precip recorded yest

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

FORECAST:

The upper low moving north out of Washington state will bring cloudy weather in an East-Southeast flow aloft. The FL is expected to rise to around 1600 meters, dropping back to 1000 meters by tonight. The weak front will slowly disperse Tuesday morning as a weak upper trough brings unsettled weather for Tuesday afternoon with the FL rising 1400 meters. Wednesday to Thursday are looking similar with rising freezing levels and unsettled conditions. Next storm is expected Friday.
Guesstimates: 8-12 cm by Tuesday morning, 2-6 cm by Wednesday morning, 0 cm expected by Thursday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

     Deep upper low will bring showery weather for today.

    Weak low will spread snow flurries in the area with a FL rising to 1600 meters.

    Low over our zone.

    Fronts along the coast.

    Upper trough for Tuesday with unsettled weather.

    Still some cloud in the area for Tuesday.


     OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Evidence of some wet loose avalanches.

    Southwest facing slope.

    Icicles at an ice cave entrance.

    Squamish Glacier Ice Cave.

    Description below.                                                                                Cony Amelunsen Photo

I think these came down about 48 hours ago based on what the locals say the weather did up there.
The crown is on Path 11.5 at Green Mountain on the Hurely. The crown is about 400m wide. The avalanche, a size 3 that stop at or just on the road.

The avalanches on the road all from  one start zone I figure a solid sz3.5. About 200 m  of road covered with up to 7 m  of debris. This is Path 4.5km on the East Hurley.

There is an incredible instability in the area immediately around Goldbridge and into the Taylor Range. There were a lot of avalanches further south in the Lord of the Rings, Cadwalader and Noel areas but they weren't as extensive as in the Goldbridge area. From Cony Amelunsen.


Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Reports:

Wind Slab

Vantage Ridge


ARTICLES:

An avalanche has killed a Solo Skier on Saddle Peak in the Bridger Range: Montana

Saddle Peak Avalanche Fatality Video: April 14, 2018

An avalanche in France: Video

Risk of full depth avalanches remain, says SAIS: Scotland

California Men arrested for skiing in closed area at Aspen: Colorado