March 10, 2023

      AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

     An avalanche has killed one ski tourer, injured another in Utah. Article below. UAC Pic

     No new avalanches observed on Whistler. Some sloughing on steep lee terrain.

     Xc on Blackcomb, Prime Rib Cornice. Sz 1.5 cornice debris, no slab.        WM Pic

      Xc  Prime Rib Cornice Thursday am. Beware of cornice debris in flat light.

     Some people cannot read. Group released 2 Sz 1 Sa in Triplex B & C. WM Pic.

      Loose Dry.

      Older loose dry.

      Some wet loose on Thursday, on lower solar aspects.

      Report of a Sz 2 Nc (Natural cornice release) between Overlord Peak and Refuse Peak.

      Sa Sz 2. 2023/03/09 Ogden, UT. Click> UTAC Report.                                          Capt. Jack Pic

      WEATHER YESTERDAY:

      Sunrise Thursday was at 06:39 Hrs. -8 Deg C with a 20-40 KPH ESE wind at 1860 m.

     08:00 Hrs. -8 Deg C with a 10-20 ESE wind at 1860 m.

      10:00 Hrs. -6 Deg C with a 15-25 KPH ENE wind at 1835 m.

      Thursday March 9, 2023. 12:00 Hrs. -5 Deg C with a 10-20 KPH ENE wind at 1835 m.

     14:00 Hrs. -9 Deg C with a 2-30 KPH ESE wind at 2280 m.

     16:00 Hrs. -5 Deg C with a 20-40 KPH ESE wind at 1860 m.

Weather Observations for March 10, 2023 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2280 meters     -11, Winds were 30-45 KPH E--Horstman Hut

2180 meters     -10, Winds were 15-30 KPH NE--Whistler Peak

1860 meters       -8, Winds were 10-45 KPH S --Rendezvous  

1835 meters       -9, Winds were   5-20 KPH NE--Round House

1650 meters       -8, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 229 cm--Pig Alley

1570 meters       -8, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 154 cm--Catskinner

  660 meters       -1, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +5.7, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday.

      As of 06:00 Hrs we have no new snow. 0.0 mm of precip. Base 229 cm.

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

FORECAST:

Low to our south will brush by with overcast skies in a Southerly flow aloft. Likely see some breaks. The frontal boundary is just South of here so chance it might drift North with some flurries. Thinking its staying South so going with a dry day. The FL is below surface and will likely go up to 1200 m with daytime heating, dropping back below surface tonight. A weak front for Saturday as the low moves down the coast. Periods of light snow with some sunny breaks in the pm. Dries out on Sunday with some snow flurries and overcast skies. A vigorous front arrives Sunday night with strong winds, moderate-heavy precipitation and warmer temps. (Hopefully FL Lower than 1500m). More on the FL as we get closer, it may change. Front pushes through Monday with active weather for most of the day, drying out Monday night. Tuesday looks nice with some brief ridging and dry conditions. Some evening flurries as the next front arrives Wednesday. Went beyond comfort zone, time will tell. Model discrepancies. Guesstimates: 0-trace by Saturday am, 2-5 cm by Sunday am, 12-18 cm by Monday am above 1200 m, 18-22 cm by Tuesday am above 1500 m, 1-3 cm by Wednesday am.

      GOES IR IMAGE from this am.

      WINDY IMAGE 2023/03/10. 05:00 Hrs.

       Low to the South moving East, spinning cloud our way. Dry. Seasonable temps.

     Dry Friday as low brushes South B.C.

      Southerly flow aloft.

       Low moves down from the North Saturday, weak front with Southerly flow. Cool.

      Periods of light snowfall for Saturday.

         Low continues to spin frontal bands our way on Sunday. weak impulse in am. 

      Flurries Sunday, with a vigorous frontal band arriving Sunday night/ Monday am.

      Active flow to our South will bring wet warm weather Monday. Warms up. 

      Pineapple express with strong winds, moderate precipitation and warm temperatures. on Monday.

     Unsettled Tuesday as low weakens. Mix of sun and cloud with flurries. Cooler temps.

     Weak frontal band Wednesday with light snowfall to the valley.

      INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

      Bit of colour at 07:00 Hrs.

     No new snow-not many keeners. Thursday am upload.

     Overcast to the Northwest in the am.

     Another awesome day.

      Time for a reset!  A lot of happy tracks.

    We do live in an awesome Province.

     Pyroclastic with sled tracks in the foreground.

     No lineups on Thursday.

      Cord looks fun!!!

      Nice light on Ipsoot--16:30 Hrs.

     20:00 Hrs. Still unsettled. -11 Deg C with a 35-50 KPH NE wind at 2280 m.

FROM AVALANCHE CANADA:

Travel and Terrain Advice

Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.

Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

Minimize your exposure time below cornices.

MODERATE--SEA TO SKY ADVISORY available top right sidebar.

LOCAL MIN REPORTS:

No new MIN Reports as of 07:00 Hrs.

SHORT CLIPS:

Dry Loose: Avalanche

Sled Crash into a: Tree Well

Did he make the right decision: AvyBites

Ski Cutting: AvyBites

ARTICLES:

1 Killed, another hospitalized in Weber Backcountry Avalanche: Utah

One ski tourer dead, eight others rescued in separate incidents on WB: Pique

Stan Rey shares important message after close call in the: Backcountry

Avalanche centre warns of deadly roof avalanches: Utah

MARCH 2023 ENSO Discussion-La Nina is gone: NOAA

Washington Volunteer details Colchuck Peak avalanche search and rescue effort: Washington State

      If you enjoy the content and find it useful, please hit the donate button, top right on side bar.

Send me recent avalanche images. E-Mail top right of the side bar. Read Below:

Goggle contest returning again this year, win a pair of Marker goggles for the best avalanche image for the months of February-March, April-May.  Grand prize best image of the  season will be a Pair of Prior Skis or a Split Board awarded at the end of May. 

March 9, 2023

       AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

      Snowmobile Accidental 2023/03/07. Montana. Video below in Clip Section.          MTavalanche Pic

      Limited AC on Whistler Wednesday. Several Sz 1 Xe Sc. Windslabs on  steep upper lee terrain.

      No new avalanches observed on Blackcomb. Some point releases later in the pm.

       Sz 1 Na dry loose on Rainbow.

      Final avalanche reports on two incidents involving fatalities in February available below from CAIC.

      WEATHER YESTERDAY:

      Sunrise Wednesday was at 06:41 Hrs. -9 Deg C with a 5-10 KPH SSW breeze at 1860 m.

      08:00 Hrs. -8 Deg C wit5h a 5-10 kph ESE wind at 1860 m.

      10:00 Hrs. -11 Deg C with a 25-35 KPH SE wind at 2280 m.

      Wednesday March 8, 2023. 12:00 Hrs. -6 Deg C with a 10-25 PKH ESE wind. Camera is failing!!!

      14:00 Hrs. -5 deg C with a 15-35 KPH East wind at 1860 m. 

     16:00 Hrs. -4 Deg C with a 20-40 KPH East wind at 1860 m.

Weather Observations for March 9, 2023 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2280 meters     -11, Winds were 30-45 KPH E--Horstman Hut

2180 meters       -9, Winds were 10-20 KPH NNE--Whistler Peak

1860 meters       -8, Winds were 15-40 KPH ESE --Rendezvous  

1835 meters       -9, Winds were 10-20 KPH N--Round House

1650 meters       -8, 0 cm in 12 Hrs,  trace in 24 Hrs. Base 231 cm--Pig Alley

1570 meters       -7, 0 cm in 12 Hrs,  0 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 155 cm--Catskinner

  660 meters       -4, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +5.6, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday.

      As of 06:00 Hrs this am we have 0 cm of new, 0.2 mm in precip gauge. Base 231 cm.

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

FORECAST:

Dirty ridging for today as a surface high influences our zone in a Southerly flow aloft. Low is slowly tracking South spinning some cloud our way. A few sunny breaks mixed in with a mostly overcast day. The FL is presently below surface rising to around 1000+ m with daytime heating dropping back down below surface tonight. Low will send cloud our way Friday with some isolated flurries around sunrise. Overcast weather continues into Saturday. A weak impulse of snow early Saturday am dissipating in the early pm with a mix of sun and cloud. Unsettled Sunday am before a frontal band arrives in the pm with light precipitation switching to moderate precipitation Sunday night. Front continues into Monday am with moderate precipitation easing to flurries Monday evening. More on amounts and temperatures as we get closer. Brunt of the storm will be South of our zone so looking like the FL may stay at an acceptable elevation. Guesstimates: 0 cm by Friday am, trace-1 cm by Saturday am, 1-4 cm by Sunday am, 12-16 cm by Monday am, 12-16 cm by Tuesday am.  

      GOES IR IMAGE from this am.

      WINDY IMAGE 2023/03/09. 05:00 Hrs.

        Low well to the South, surface high pushing onto the coast. Cool.

      Dry day with the chance of a isolated flurry on Thursday.

      Southerly flow aloft.

       Low has moved East, clouds still spinning our way Friday. Seasonable temps.

      Another dry day on Friday as the low remains well to the South.

        Next low moving down the coast Saturday, weak short wave trough in the am. 

       A weak impulse of precipitation Saturday. Unsettled after it pushes through.

         Low deepens with a frontal band arriving later Sunday afternoon. Seasonable temps.

      Light precipitation later Sunday afternoon.

      Light/moderate precipitation on Monday. Warm and windy.

      Periods of light precipitation Tuesday.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

      07:00 Hrs, the camera has been failing for a couple of weeks now.

       Interesting light in the am.

       Large convective cloud development.

      Skinners, hikers looking for the dry powder snow. Very busy on Flute.

      WB Ski Patrol responded to a medical call on the East side of Blackcomb Peak. Ski Tourer.

      Nice looking turns on Decker. Small Slough.

      Sending it under Peak Chair.

      Natural Art, please leave me alone!! I will transform!

      There were good turns to be had on wind blown dry snow.

      Another awesome day in the mountains.

FROM AVALANCHE CANADA:

Travel and Terrain Advice

Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.

Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

Avoid travelling on slopes below cornices.

Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.

MODERATE--SEA TO SKY ADVISORY available top right sidebar.

LOCAL MIN REPORTS:

No new MIN reports as of 07:00 Hrs.

SHORT CLIPS:

Bucketing water onto slope for: Avalanche Mitigation

Surfing out of an: Avalanche

When you really are having a: Bad Day Sledding

Fine looking: POW

Snowmobile Accidental 2023/03/07. Lionhead: MTAvalanche

ARTICLES:

Two ski tourers injured in separate avalanches: Austria

How to learn from avalanche accident reports: Powder Cloud

Final Report on the snowmobiler fatality 2023/02/25: CAIC

Final Report on the snowmobiler fatality 2023/02/23: CAIC

Helicopter dispatched to resort to cover up lewd drawing: Alyeska, AK

California braces for rain and snow as back to back atmospheric rivers approach: Friday & Monday

      If you enjoy the content and find it useful, please hit the donate button, top right on side bar.

Send me recent avalanche images. E-Mail top right of the side bar. Read Below:

Goggle contest returning again this year, win a pair of Marker goggles for the best avalanche image for the months of February-March, April-May.  Grand prize best image of the  season will be a Pair of Prior Skis or a Split Board awarded at the end of May.