Wayne Flann Avalanche Blog

24 Jan 2021

January 24, 2021

YESTERDAY:

Mount Fee is part of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt.

Top of Symphony

More tracks in the backcountry.

Very nice to be in the sunshine.

Saturday January 23, 2021. 14:00 Hrs. -5 with a 5-10 KPH SE wind. -2 in the valley.

Satellite image from Saturday afternoon.

Cloud started moving in later in the afternoon.

Weather Observations for January 24, 2021 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters -9, Winds were 30-40 KPH SE--Horstman Hut

2180 meters -9, Winds were 20-30 KPH ESE--Whistler Peak
1860 meters -7, Winds were 10-15 KPH ESE --Rendezvous

1835 meters -8, Winds were 5-15 KPH E--Round House

1650 meters -8, 4 cm in 12 Hrs, 4 cm in 24 Hrs, Base 218 cm --Pig Alley
1570 meters -8, 4 cm in 12 Hrs, 4 cm in 24 Hrs, Base 150 cm--Catskinner

660 meters -5, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was -0.6, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday.

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

FORECAST:

Front will move through today with periods of light precip in a South Westerly flow aloft. The FL will remain below surface. Low will bring more snow to the area Sunday night into Monday with unsettled weather by the afternoon. A mix of sun, cloud and some flurries. Drying trend Monday night with some flurries on Tuesday morning before we get some unsettled weather Tuesday afternoon. Another weak frontal band brings periods of light precip for Wednesday. Unsettled weather into Friday. We may see 20 cm for next Saturday. Fingers crossed. Guesstimates: 4-8 cm by Monday morning. 2-4 cm by Tuesday am, 1-3 cm by Wednesday am.

GOES IR image from this am.

Weak front for today with periods of light snow. FL below surface.

Weak front eventually dries up by Monday afternoon. FL below surface.

Low well off the coast, unsettled weather for Tuesday.

Low well off the coast, but will bring unsettled weather for Tuesday.

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

An avalanche has killed a guide near Nendaz, Switzerland. Article below. Net Pic

Old slab avalanche on Black Tusk. 2100 m North aspect. Sz 2.5 Richard So Image

No new avalanches observed on Whistler. Old crown line still visible.

No new avalanche activity on Blackcomb.

From Sea to Sky Avalanche Advisory:

Avalanche Summary

No new reports in the last few days. Explosive control work targeting cornices on Thursday produced size 1.5 results and did not trigger slabs in the slopes below. This indicates an improvement in stability since last weekend, when similar work produced size 2 results, some triggering deep slabs on the rocky slopes below.

Earlier this month, we saw significant deep persistent slab activity, both natural and human triggered. Deep glide cracks have also been observed previously but appear to be holding together in the cool temperatures.

Snowpack Summary

A dusting of new snow falls on generally hard surfaces throughout the region; old stiff wind slab at upper elevations and a crust below 1900 m and on south aspects. In the recent cool, clear weather, crystals such as surface hoar and facets have formed ontop of these old surfaces. They are expected to become problematic as snow accumulates overtop.

Remnants of a melt-freeze crust from early December may be found around 200 cm deep in the snowpack. In shallow rocky snowpack spots, it still shows some propagation and collapse to moderate to hard loading in the most recent snowpack tests. In thicker snowpack areas it has shown no results, and appears to be trending dormant... for now at least.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

Great temperatures for making snow!!

Cheakamus Glacier.

AST 1 course with Altus Mountain Guides

Decent snow in DOA.

Soft snow on North facing slopes.

LOCAL AVALANCHE CANADA MIN REPORTS:

Alpha South--East Shoulder: Jan 23, 2021

Lazy Boy: Jan 23, 2021

Black Tusk Hard Skiing, Soft Filling: Jan 23, 2021

VIDEOS:

Powder Picker-Jan 23, 2021: David Jones

ARTICLES:

A guide has been killed in an avalanche in Nendaz: Switzerland

Several injuries after an avalanche hits touring party: Italy

Injured off-piste skier struck by an avalanche near Cari Lifts: Switzerland

Two injuries after avalanches: Italy

A skier was rescued from an avalanche at Mt Washington: New Hampshire

Sea to Sky snowmobiling coming of age: Squamish Chief

O'Bellx Avalanche System is operating: Fernie Alpine Resort

Snowpack levels above average for most of the province: British Columbia

Marker Goggles for best avalanche picture Jan 19- Jan 31, 2021 in Sea to Sky Area.

Sponsored by Volkl Canada

23 Jan 2021

January 23, 2021

YESTERDAY:

Sunrise Friday was at 07:58 Hrs. -7 with a 5-10 KPH ESE breeze.

Rainbow Friday am.

The bumps are getting big, time for a reset.

Route finding for quality snow important yesterday.

Another awesome day.

Nice turns in Blackcomb Bowl.

Later in the afternoon. Great skiing in the man made.

Weather Observations for January 23, 2021 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters -6, Winds were 10-15 KPH NW--Horstman Hut

2180 meters -5, Winds were 10-15 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak
1860 meters -5, Winds were 10-20 KPH NE --Rendezvous

1835 meters -5, Winds were 5-10 KPH S--Round House

1650 meters -9, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs, Base 215 cm --Pig Alley
1570 meters -8, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs, Base 148 cm--Catskinner

660 meters -10, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was -0.4 0.0 mm of precip yesterday.

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

FORECAST:

Upper ridge will bring sunny skies for most of the day, cloud will push in this afternoon as a weak trough arrives for early Sunday morning. North Westerly flow aloft. The FL will remain below surface. Periods of light precip for Sunday into early Monday morning. Unsettled weather for Monday with some sunny breaks in the morning, mostly dry cloudy weather. Unsettled Tuesday with a mix of sun and cloud. Unsettled for most of the week with some snow expected next weekend. Guesstimates: trace-2 cm by Sunday morning, 5-10 cm by Monday am, trace-1 cm by Tuesday am.

GOES IR image from this am.

High pressure brings sunny skies for today. Weak trough moving in tonight.

Splitting upper trough will hopefully bring us some snow on Sunday. Cooler temps.

Unsettled with the high on one side and weak arctic low on the other.

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

An avalanche has killed a ski tourer near Bauges, France. Article below. Net Pic

No new avalanches observed on Whistler or Blackcomb.

Be wary of cornices, still able to release a slab avalanche.

Looks very wind affected. in most of the backcountry.

From Sea to Sky Advisory:

Avalanche Summary

Explosive control work targeting cornices on Thursday produced size 1.5 results and did not trigger slabs in the slopes below. This indicates an improvement in stability since last weekend, when similar work produced size 2 results, some triggering deep slabs on the rocky slopes below.

Snowpack Summary

Extensive wind effect in the alpine includes scoured windward aspects and hard slabs in lee terrain. As wind slabs facet and lose cohesion in the cold temperatures, they have become largely unreactive. A widespread surface crust exists below 1900 m and on south-facing slopes.

Remnants of a melt-freeze crust from early December may be found around 200 cm deep in the snowpack. In thin rocky snowpack spots, it still shows some propagation and collapse to moderate to hard loading in the most recent snowpack tests. In thicker snowpack areas it has shown no results, and appears to be trending dormant... for now at least.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

Snowmobile tracks on Powder Mountain.