May 6, 2018

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

   Sz 3 Avalanche from a few days ago in Lakeside.

    Fracture line from slide on Lower Disease Ridge.

    Different perspective of above avalanche.

    From the Brandywine Area.                                                                                   Toby Salin Image

    No new avalanches observed yesterday.



    YESTERDAY:

    Saturday morning, a few clouds.

    Clouds moved in later in the morning from the Southeast.

    Still an awesome day.

    Cumulus clouds in the afternoon.

    Clouds dissipated later in the day.

    Just before sunset.

    Saturday Afternoon

    Big picture on Saturday afternoon!


Weather Observations for May 6, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters    +3, Winds were 15-45 KPH NE--Horstman Hut
1860 meters    +6, Winds were   5-25 KPH E  --Rendevous
1550 meters    +6, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs  Base 198 cm --Catskinner

  660 meters    +8, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +21.9, trace of precip recorded yest

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



FORECAST:

An upper level trough will bring unsettled weather today in a Southwesterly flow aloft. Surface flow will continue from the North and the FL will spike at around 3000 meters. Chance of some intermittent isolated rain showers for today but the air mass is fairly dry. A weak upper level ridge will try to build for Monday into Tuesday but looks like unsettled weather will continue until Tuesday night when a Pacific frontal band pushes through into Thursday. This front will lower temperatures and the FL could go as low as 1700 meters Wednesday night. Ridge could rebuild by Friday.
Guesstimates: trace-2 mm by Monday morning, trace-4 mm by Tuesday morning, trace-4 mm by Wednesday morning, 15-20 mm by Thursday morning.( 10 cm possible above 1600 meters)

    GOES IR image from this am. 

        Weak Upper level trough with warm temperatures at 1550 meters.

    Unsettled this am.

    Unsettled!

   Fronts along the coast.

    Unsettled!

   Unsettled!


    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

   Looking West Satuday morning.

    Poop Chutes.

    Brandywine Area                                                                                                        Toby Salin Image

   Its been warm!                                                                                                                 Toby Salin Image

   Castle Towers Saturday afternoon.

    Cable and Com lines removed.

    Alpine was open but had to close by 14:30 Hours Saturday afternoon.. Warm up there this am!!

   There were some characters around on Saturday.

   Guru!

    Tricks at 2240 meters. Max temp yesterday at this elevation was +7.2 Deg C.

From South Coast Touring:

Jim Morrison May 5 at 10:00pm

So this spring's darling seems to be Cloudburst(last year was Icecap): over 20 people there today. We were alone as we got there first, but on our way down we saw 2 groups of skiers and one large group of snowshoers. Awesome conditions up there, with a long slog on the Chance Creek FSR, as the parking is around 700m elevation. Much less coverage than last year in the lower levels, but still enough for now.

ARTICLES:

Melting snow pack allows NSR ability to search for missing backcountry users: North Shore

Last weekends storm final death tally--16: Pistehors.com

Avalanche survivors face the Trauma of Living: Cassidy Randall

May 5, 2018

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche had closed Hwy 99 on the Duffey Lake Road. Article below.                        Net Pic

    Duffey Lake Road is now open!                                                                        Jim Clark Photo

    Locally, no new avalanche activity observed yesterday near the ski area.




    YESTERDAY:

    Early Friday Morning.

    12:00 Hrs Friday, +5 Deg C.

    15:00 Hrs in town, + 12 Deg C.

    15:00 Hrs at 1835 meters, +5 Deg C.

    Friday evening 19:00 Hrs.

   Just before sunset, which was at 20:35 Hrs.


Weather Observations for May 5, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      0, Winds were 10-15 KPH S--Horstman Hut
1860 meters    +2, Winds were   0-10 KPH S--Rendevous
1550 meters    +1, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs  Base 202 cm --Catskinner

  660 meters    +2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +14.8, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

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



FORECAST:

A weak high pressure will bring mostly sunny skies to our zone today in a Westerly flow aloft, switching to Southwesterly later today. The FL will rise to 2800 meters today with some cloud development later in the day. A low moving up from the South will bring unsettled spring like weather for Sunday with the FL remaining in the 2800 meter zone. More of the same for Monday with a nice lookout for Tuesday, as the ridge tries to rebuild. An upper level trough from the Southwest will bring some precipitation to the area on Wednesday. More on that as we get closer.
Guesstimates: 0 mm by Sunday morning, trace-4 mm by Monday morning, trace-1 by Tuesday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Weak High pressure with slightly cooler temperatures at 1550 meters.

    Looking nice this am.

    High sticks around this afternoon.

   Fronts along the coast.

    Upper level trough pushes in from the South.

    Mostly cloudy with the chance of some showers.


    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Overcast in Penticton Friday morning.

    Highway 99. Avalanche Path 51                                                                           Claire Daniels Image

   Clearing the debris on the Duffey Lake Road.                                                           Jim Clark Photo

   Overcast Friday evening.

    Wrong side of the fence.

   Just before sunrise this am.


ARTICLES:

Avalanche closes Hwy 99 on the Duffey Lake Road: News 11:30

Update + photos on snowmobiler killed in avalanche on Blackstone Glacier: Anchorage

Hatcher Pass avalanche narrowly misses snow machiner: Alaska

Massive avalanche occurs right in front of tourists: Chile

Experts confirm Swiss winter broke records for snowfall: The Local

May 4, 2018

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    A snowmobiler has died in an avalanche on Blackstone Glacier, Alaska. Article below. Net Pic.

    Locally, Numerous Sz 1 wet point releases, a few Sz 1.5 climax  slides.



    YESTERDAY:

    Very early Thursday morning.

    High cloud cover by 11:00 Hrs.  +8 at 1835 meters.

    High yesterday in the valley was +20.3 Deg C.

    Dark clouds moved in later in the day.

    17:30 Hrs, still broken cloud. +8 Deg C at 1835 meters.


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

2240 meters      0, Winds were 20-25 KPH S--Horstman Hut
1860 meters    +2, Winds were 10-15 KPH S--Rendevous
1550 meters    +3, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs  Base 210 cm --Catskinner

  660 meters    +8, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +20.3, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

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

FORECAST:

An upper level trough will continue to send cloud our way today in a West/Southwest Flow Aloft. The FL will go up to 2500 meters today with a chance of some rain showers. Unsettled weather for the next few days before a weak upper ridge builds into the area on Tuesday.
Guesstimates: 1-3 mm by Saturday morning, 0-trace by Sunday morning, 1-3 mm by Monday morning.

    GOES IR image this am.

    Low spinning cloud our way, still warm at 1550 meters.

    Mostly cloudy.

    Possible showers.

    Fronts along the coast.

    Unsettled!

    Looking nicer in the afternoon.

    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Case Studies and Research Presentations at the CAA Conference in Penticton.

    Still a bit of snow in the Okanagan area.

    Unsettled with a high of +25.1 Deg c in Penticton Thursday.

    Darker clouds in the evening.

    A good place for food!

From South Coast Touring:

Johannes Esterlé May 3 at 9:16pm

Garibaldi conditions as for yesterday :  - Parked at 850m and walk to the first fork on the road (snow + lots of dry patches)  - Fast travel on hard pack to the col between Garibaldi and the tent.  - Lose avalanches on the summit pitch which looked fresh (10cm snow from last weekend I guess), we didn't summit.  - Noticed 1 size 2 under the shark fin on Brohm ridge which might have slid few days ago, about 1 meter thick crown and still a huge slab threatening to slide.  - Amazing 400m corn-skiing run between the col and Warren glacier (few snow bridges sagging are noticeable on this run).  - Long slog crossing back Brohm ridge and skiing the logging road on wet snow.  - Walking the last 5km because something remove the wax from our ski bases and they were not gliding anymore (gas or oil from the snowmobile present on the snow surface ? If anybody knows I'd be glad to learn !!).

VIDEO FRIDAY:

Avalanche in Northern India: Ladakh

Setting off an avalanche: Speedriding



ARTICLES:

Hwy 99 closed North of Whistler due to avalanche: Global News

Alaskan man killed after being partially buried in an avalanche: Blackstone Glacier

26 people have died in avalanches in Switzerland so far this winter: Swiss Info

Avalanche Canada looks to crowd sourcing to improve service: Pique