March 12, 2020

    YESTERDAY:

    An awesome day had by all.

    Synchronized skiing.

    Less cloud mid morning.   

    Blue bird for a while in the morning.

    Wednesday March 11, 2020. 12:00 Hrs. -3.6 with a 0-5 KPH SW Breeze

    Around noon on Wednesday afternoon.

     Big picture from Wednesday afternoon.

    Convective cloud development in the afternoon.

    Cloudy over Whistler Blackcomb.

    Later in the afternoon.

Weather Observations for March 12, 2020 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters    -13, Winds were    5-10 KPH SE--Horstman Hut

2180 meters      -8, Winds were 10-15 KPH S--Whistler Peak
1860 meters    -12, Winds were   5-10 KPH SE --Rendezvous 

1835 meters    -10, Winds were 10-15 KPH S--Round House

1650 meters    -10, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs, Base 258 cm --Pig Alley
1560 meters .  -10, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs, Base 181 cm--Catskinner

  660 meters      -6, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +6.3, 0.7 mm of precip yesterday.

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

FORECAST:

A weak front for today with a mix of sun and cloud this morning, increasing cloud this afternoon with some light precipitation by tonight into early Friday morning.  North Westerly flow aloft for today with the freezing level rising just above surface.  Arctic front will bring mostly cloudy skies for Friday with cold temperatures and some isolated flurries. High pressure builds for Saturday with cold temperatures and mostly sunny skies. High pressure will bring sunny weather with inverted temperatures next week.  Guesstimates: 4-6 cm by Friday morning, trace-1 cm by Saturday morning. Draught for next week.

    GOES IR image from this am.

     Weak arctic front will bring some light precipitation later today.

    Fronts along the coast.

     Low pressure and Arctic front will bring colder temperatures and overcast skies for Friday.

     Arctic front and surface high will bring sunny cold weather for Saturday.

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Active cycle in the past 24 hours.

     Chainsaw SE aspect- lower slide SR from 10m, upper slide- 5 minutes later-SA  skier didn’t follow guides instructions          and crossed boundary line triggered on second turn. 15-40 cm deep fracture line on sun crust   Lee Anne Patterson

    Approaching from the benchside stopping on the crest when it released on the crust. Sa, South Callahan Rob Rainer 

     Recent huge corince release on the Tantalus Range. Nc (natural Cornice Release) Just one piece. Hayden Buck Pic

     Na Sz 2 Cham Chutes. Avalanche Canada MIN Report below.                                            Patrick Herrmann Pic

    Na Co-Pilot Squamish Zone MIN Report below.                                                                                Simon Gravel Pic

    Sc Sz 1Ryan Area

     Natural cornice drop (Nc)

    Sc Sz 1 on Wednesday.

    Avalanche mitigation on WB yesterday produced some Sz 1-1.5 Sa, Xe, Xh. One Sz 2 Xc.

    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Sastrugi

    Wind affected snow.

    Strong winds to carve the snow.

    Some wind skin skied well.

    Cornices are very big and fragile.

    Fun in the sun.

AVALANCHE CANADA MIN REPORTS:

Phelix Creek: March 10, 2020

Cham Chutes: March 11, 2020

Co-Pilot: March 11, 2020

VIDEOS:

Whistler weather with meteorologist: David Jones

New Snow and Wind: Avalanche Guys

ARTICLES:

Rescuers recover three bodies: Pakistan

Avalanche in K-P leaves three dead, 30 injured: Pakistan

Know Before You Go: Backcountry Basics