Wayne Flann Avalanche Blog: February 6, 2021

YESTERDAY:

Sunrise Friday was at 07:39 Hrs. -3 with a 30-40 KPH NNE wind.

Thick stratus layer above the valley floor.

Time for a reset!

Lots of turns!

There was certainly some wind affected aspects.

There are always good turns some where.

Clouds began to move in from the South in the am.

Friday February 5, 2021. 14:00 Hrs. -2 with 20-40 KPH SW wind. +3 in the valley.

Satellite image from the same timeframe.

It was hard going back down into the valley.

Into the dark and moist valley.

Weather Observations for February 6, 2021 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters -8, Winds were 45-60 KPH N--Horstman Hut

2180 meters -8, Winds were 45-60 KPH N--Whistler Peak
1860 meters -6, Winds were 20-35 KPH SE --Rendezvous

1835 meters -5, Winds were 20-45 KPH S--Round House

1650 meters -5, 4 cm in 12 Hrs, 4 cm in 24 Hrs, Base 255 cm --Pig Alley
1570 meters -4, 3 cm in 12 Hrs, 3 cm in 24 Hrs, Base 188 cm--Catskinner

660 meters 0, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +4.2, 0.5 mm of precip yesterday.

As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have overcast skies, variable visibility and it is snowing lightly.

FORECAST:

A weak low and accompanying warm front will bring light precipitation to the area in a North West flow aloft. The FL should top out at around 1000 meters, dropping back down to surface by tomorrow. A weak trough will bring periods of light precipitation for Sunday with cooler air pushing in from the Arctic Front. We may see a few breaks later in the afternoon on Sunday. More flurries Monday morning with a brief break with some cloudy weather in the afternoon, more flurries for the evening. Much colder on Monday with more of the same on Tuesday. Guesstimates: 5-25 cm by Sunday am, 5-10 cm by Monday am, 2-4 cm by Tuesday am.

GOES IR image from this am.

Weak low and warm front will bring light precip for today.

Big picture Saturday am.

Periods of light snow with colder temps for Sunday.

Flurries and cold cloudy weather for Monday.

Not sure about this image, could see more precip on Monday, time will tell!!

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

Sa Sz 1 traversing to Vista Chute from yesterday. Mike Belanger Pic

Old Sz 1.5 Na on Decker. Mike Belanger Pic

Sz 1-1.5 Na from yesterday, solar aspect. Mike Belanger Pic

Recent Na activity on Parkhurst Ridge.

Glide avalanche in the Apostles. Mo Rasiah Image

Sa Sz .5 slab Lower Disease Ridge from Yesterday. CWMS Pic

Limited avalanche control on Whistler. Xe,Xc, Sc Cornices main result Sz 1-2

Cornice control on Bushwhip. Careful today skiing in the Alpine Bowls.

Breakable slab on some aspects.

From Sea to Sky Avalanche Advisory:

Avalanche Summary

Skier triggered wind slabs up to size 1.5 were reported on Thursday. Explosive control work conducted over the last few days have produced size 2 cornice and storm slab avalanches.

Earlier in the week, many of the numerous size 1-2 natural, human and explosives triggered avalanches were reported to have failed on the recently buried persistent weak layer.

Snowpack Summary

Westerly winds are likely redistributing surface snow into wind slabs in leeward terrain features at upper elevations. 50-100 cm of recent snow sits on a persistent weak layer that consists of facets at upper elevations, surface hoar in sheltered areas, a melt-freeze crust below 1900 m, and a sun crust on south-facing slopes. There could be more than 100 cm on this layer in wind loaded areas.

A crust from early December may be found around 200+ cm deep in the snowpack. In shallow rocky areas, it may still be possible to trigger this layer. In deeper snowpack areas, it appears to be unreactive.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

06:30 Friday. Valley cloud with clear skies above.