April 8, 2020

    YESTERDAY:

    High overcast early Tuesday morning.

    Started breaking fairly quickly. Note cornice nose release out of Teetering.

    Close up.

    Eventually became an amazing warm spring morning.

    A few clouds around just after noon.

    Tuesday April 7, 2020. 14:00 Hrs. + 11 at 660 m. 0 Deg with 15-25 KPH West wind at 1835 m.

    Satellite image from same timeframe as above image.

    Big picture Tuesday afternoon.

    Mount Currie.

    This will look different in a couple of days.

    We do have some amazing mountains in our backyard. Blue Bird afternoon.

    Alpenglow Tuesday evening.

Weather Observations for April 8, 2020 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters    -4, Winds were 5-10  KPH W--Horstman Hut

2180 meters    -2, Winds were 5-10 KPH W--Whistler Peak
1860 meters    -3, Winds were   0-5 KPH N --Rendezvous 

1835 meters    -2, Winds were   0-5 KPH ENE--Round House

1650 meters    -4, 0 cm in 12 Hrs,  0 cm in 24 Hrs, Base 266 cm --Pig Alley
1560 meters    -4, 0 mm in 12 Hrs, 0 mm in 24 Hrs, Base 181 cm--Catskinner

  660 meters    -3, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +11.8, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday.

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

FORECAST:

Another warm day with mostly sunny skies and some cloud in a Northwest flow aloft. The freezing level will spike today getting close to 3000 meters. Some cloud will spill in from the rather active front in northern B.C., which slowly slides closer to our zone over the next couple of days. A short wave trough reaches the South Coast early Saturday morning with a brief impulse of moisture before quickly exiting and the ridge rebuilds. The blocking pattern continues into next week.
Guesstimates: No precipitation until Saturday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Warm sunny weather and some cloud spills in from the impressive low to our North.

    Omega Block.

     Still some cloud but mostly sunny for Thursday.

     High continues to be the dominant feature for the South Coast Mountains. Some cloud.

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Warm temperatures yesterday got things moving.

    Multiple avalanches over weekend in Siskiyou County, California <Click for info.

    Hwy 21 still getting cleaned up after historic 6.5 Earthquake. Idaho News <click for info.

    Activity from today!

     Lots of snow on Mount Currie set to go with some warm days approaching!

    This pile should get bigger by Saturday!!

    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Cornice collapses will become more common with warming temperatures.

    Some tracks on Cowboy Ridge.

    Cornices grow quickly when they are not being trimmed back with explosives.

    This blog is going to the birds!  Hooded Merganser.

    Norway broke snowfall Record<click for info.

    Nice light at the end of the day, some snowballing out of Feather Trees.

    Local Submissions:

    SE Face of Sessel. Boomerang Glacier.

    North face of the West Peak of Delilah.

    SW face of Sessel, avalanches occured between 14:30 Hrs and 17:45 Hrs.

VIDEOS:

To Hell in a Heartbeat: Avalanche Recreation

Loge Bowl Avalanche Control: Jesse Deane Video

ARTICLES:

Earthquake aftershocks pose avalanche threat: Idaho

Two Dogs Cornice Release: Utah Avalanche Center

Lanes cleared on Hwy 191 after avalanche: Wyoming

Avalanche blocks road in Aravan District: Kyrgyzstan

Aerosols, Droplets, and Airborne Spread--Everything you could possibly want to know: First10EM

April 7, 2020

   YESTERDAY:

    Early Monday morning.

    Some turns out in the backcountry.

    A few turns there.

    A few turns here.  WB is closed. No uphill access. Policy

    Whistler Bowl.

    Monday April 6, 2020. 15:00 Hrs.

    Satellite image from same timeframe as above image.

    Big picture on monday afternoon.

    Mix of sun and cloud at 17:30 Hours.

    More cloud at 19:00 Hrs..

Weather Observations for April 7, 2020 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters    -7, Winds were 20-30 KPH SSW--Horstman Hut

2180 meters    -6, Winds were 25-35 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak
1860 meters    -4, Winds were 20-30 KPH SE --Rendezvous 

1835 meters    -4, Winds were 20-30 KPH SSW--Round House

1650 meters    -3, 0 cm in 12 Hrs,   0 cm in 24 Hrs, Base 270 cm --Pig Alley
1560 meters    -2, 0 mm in 12 Hrs, 0 mm in 24 Hrs, Base 185 cm--Catskinner

  660 meters    -1, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +10.6, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday.

    As of 07:00 Hrs we have thin high overcast skies and unlimited visibility.

FORECAST:

Some cloud spilled in over the ridge late yesterday, but the high will bring mostly sunny skies to our zone today in a Northwest flow aloft. The Freezing level will climb to around 1800 meters and should stay above surface tonight. A mix of sun and cloud for Wednesday with warm temperatures. More sun than cloud on Thursday with another warm day. Friday is looking sunny, Saturday as well with the exception of a short lived pulse of moisture pushes through early Saturday morning. Trace to 1 mm expected but that could change by the time Saturday arrives. A mix of sun and cloud again on Sunday. Guesstimates: Dry until at least early Saturday am.

    GOES IR image from this am.

     High will push in with warm temperatures today.

    Omega pattern easily seen in this image.

      High strengthens on Wednesday with the FL rising well above the local peaks.

     High still the dominant force on Thursday.

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Looks like a cornice released a small slab avalanche on Overlord Glacier.

    No new avalanches observed on Whistler yesterday.

    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Layers in the valley snowpack.

    Early Monday morning.

    Green Lake reflection.

    Every day some new art.

    A moment to reflect on our current situation.

    High overcast moved in briefly Monday afternoon.

    Busy on this side of Whistler.

    People are still recreating on Alta Lake.

    Clouds moved in just before sunset.

    Goldeneye.

    Local Submissions:

    Cornice collapse Sunday April 5, 2020. Brandywine Area.                                               

    Point Releases Sunday April 5, 2020. 2200 meters. Brandywine Area                               

VIDEOS:

No video today:(

ARTICLES:   

Backcountry skiers, commercial driver forced to overnight at Kootenay Pass Summit: Hwy 3 Avalanche

How rare was the Idaho Avalanche Cycle caused by an Earthquake:  Powder

Swiss avalanche deaths at 60 year low: SwissInfo

Gilles Valade, AvCan Executive Director reflects on the organizations closure: Backcountry

It's not about you--Skiing during COVID-19: PowderCloud