Still some great skiing to be had on Blackcomb and in the back country.

At 2280 meters the temperature as of 06:00 hrs was -3, winds were 0-10 KPH from the E.
At 1550 meters the temperature was -2, 85 % relative humidity and the barometer is steady.
In the valley it is 0.

Another great day of corn skiing with those temperatures.

For the updated Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

Highway project in Washington State to alleviate avalanche closures: Snoquqlmie Pass

News from down under, NZ avalanche season just starting: Arthur's Pass Mountaineering

Entire mountainside releases in Switzerland: Big Rock Slide


Mt Garibaldi way back in the upper right corner.

The past few days have seen large convective clouds in the area. Still great spring skiing!

At 2280 meters the temperature was -5.5, and winds were 10-20 KPH from the ESE as of 06:00 hrs.
At 1550 meters the temperature was -2, 69% relative humidity and the barometer is on the rise.
In the valley it is +1.

For the updated Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

Avalanches in Scotland: Cairngorms

Some avalanche Activity on the Hurley:

Hello All,

Just wanted to send out a Heads Up! Yesterday around noon a Size 3 - 3.5 avalanche crossed the Hurely FSR between Km 11-12. It came down from the east side of Green Mountain in an avalanche path that was a regular offender. The road had been cleared through previous avalanches in the same slide paths within the last couple of weeks.

What is special about this slide is that the slope is SE facing and has seen high temperatures for the last week, but didn't slide until yesterday. The difference yesterday was that the area received a little bit of rain from convective clouds. The gauge at Green Mountain only recorded one or two mm of precipitation, but local reports say there was more in isolated areas.

With the forecast for 10-20mm of precipitation this coming weekend take care out there. There is still enough snow to slide to valley bottom and block the road behind you. The slide on the Hurley was reported about 6 meters deep.

Cheers,
Conny Amelunxen
MG

From Braden Douglas, a picture of the road under path 51 on the Duffy Lake Road. Recent activity!

A slab avalanche popped out by the moraine a few days ago in the upper Fitzsimmons drainage.

At 2280meters the temperature was -3, and winds were 0-10 KPH from the SSE as of 06:00 hrs.
At 1550 meters the temperature was +.5, 75 % relative humidity and the barometer is on a downward trend.
In the valley it is +3.
Should be some rest corn skiing again today with the cooler temps last night.


For the updated Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

For some more great images go Garibaldi : Pierrot Harvie

Older footage, skier tries to outrun avalanche: National Geographic



Yesterday started out with a few showers but later in the day it was quite pleasant.

The shadows appeared as the day progressed. 

Mount Garibaldi from a distance is very spectacular, below are some images that are a lot closer.

At 2280 meters the temperture was + 1 as of 06:00 hrs, winds were 10-20 KPH from the SSE.
At 1550 meters the temperature was +5, 75% relative humidity and the barometer is falling.
In the valley it is + 11.

Max temp at 2280 meters was +7 at 17:45 yesterday.

For the updated avalanche advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

From the North Face , Know Boundaries : The Human Factor

Thanks to Pierrot Harvie for submitting some photos from his tour from Brohm ridge to Garibaldi from this past week end, except for some older activity he did not observe any recent avalanches considering the temperatures we had on the week end.


Certainly some old activity here.

West Face of Garibaldi.

Some old activity on the Tantalus Range, btm right corner, some observations noted on ACMG blog.

At 2280 meters the temperature was +3 as of 06:00, winds were 20-35 KPH from the S.
At 1550 meters the temperature was +8, 32.5 % relative humidity and the barometer is steady.
In the valley it is + 4.

Max temperature at 2280 meters was +13 at 19:15 yesterday.
The corn skiing is still good. The park is busy!

For the updated avalanche advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

Information on ABS airbags and its inventor: Peter Aschauer

Sunday, May 13, 2012

No activity yesterday on Mt Currie either!

One of the many grouse which can be seen and heard around the mountain these days.

At 2280 meters the temperature was +4 as of 06:00 hrs, winds were 5-15 KPH from the SSE.
At 1550 meters the temperature was +7, 40% relative humidity and the barometer is on a slight decline.
In the valley it is +3.

For the updated Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

Family sues over inbounds avalanche death: Winter Park

Alaska is still in a winter cycle: Alyeska

Some very good images of  an Avalanche on Annapurna: Very Lucky

A video on the crevasse incident on Friday, not so sure about the height stated: Decker


Guess when this image was taken??

The corn skiing on Friday was very nice if your timing was right.

As of 06:00 the temperature was 0 at 2280 meters, and the winds were 10-20 KPH from the SSE.
At 1550 meters the temperature was +5, 38 % relative humidity and the barometer is steady.
In the valley it is +1.

For the updated avalanche advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

Norwegian skier dies from injuries after being caught in an avalanche: Mont Blanc

Update on Siachen Glacier avalanche: 135 Buried Souls

Update on avalanche in Tibet: Brahmaputra River Canyon

Avalanches from the past:

The White Killer

Wet slides have huge destructive potential!!

A gentleman travelling solo on the Decker Glacier fell into a crevasse May 11, 2012. Luckily another solo ski tourer witnessed the event accessed the situation and went for help. Whistler SAR extricated the gentleman who had landed 15 meters onto his butt and otherwise uninjured.

As stated in the blog yesterday there appears to be many crevasses sagging and opening up. Use caution, just because there are old tracks over a depression does not mean its safe. Avoid depressions and look at where you are on the glaciers. Situational awareness and good visual observations will keep you safe!!
The temperatures are very warm, more crevasses will be sagging in the next while!


    If you look closely you can see where the snow was bridging.



Its certainly getting warm, things should change:

Wayne,

I spotted a deep slab, not to ground, from a cornice failure. The cornice is
near the end of the ridge between Helm Flats and Corrie Lake in the park,
while the crown of the slab is down near treeline from a big wind feature.

The crust was far less durable today, wet grains with a weak crust, easy ski
pole to ground in most areas including a lot of the debris from last Monday.

Who knows, maybe this pattern will trigger a cycle!

Tony

The highway to the valley is slowly shrinking, amazing job keeping it open.

At 2280 meters the temperature was 0 as of 06:00, winds were 10-20 KPH from the SSE.
At 1550 meters the temperature was +2, 50 % relative humidity and the barometer is steady.
In the valley it is -1.

For the Updated Avalanche Advisory click here: Avalanche Advisory

An emergency medicine blog, factors that determine survival : Scandinavia

Avalanche in Tibet: Caught in a canyon

South of the border: Mt St Helenes

Avalanches from the past:
Lahaul Valley, India (1979, early March)
Five days of snowstorms creates deep drifts over the Himalayan foothills in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. A series of avalanches bury the valley beneath 15 to 20 feet of snow. About 200 people are estimated dead.


From the ACMG blog:

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Still able to ski down from base 2 to the bottom of the wizard, with the forecasted temperatures it will be hard to keep the highway white.

Surprisingly, the crevasses are already sagging and opening up.  Someone fell in a hole near Decker yesterday!!