Checking in on the Season
I'll be honest, we didn't get out skiing that much this past week. Between the Vancouver Outdoor Show last weekend and fighting off a flu, time on snow has been hard to come by. But, we did get a few reports.
Over the weekend, temperatures soared, triggering a widespread loose-wet natural avalanche cycle. Size 2 avalanches were widespread, but no further activity was seen on the persistent slab that triggered large avalanches in Manning Park last week. That might mean the layer is healing, but it could also mean that it's still lurking down there, which is why Avalanche Canada still has Persistent Slab listed in our local avalanche forecast this morning.
Tuesday brought snow to our local mountains, with some areas reporting up to 20cm's of fresh snow. Yesterday and today are probably the best conditions, with freezing levels rising and significant solar input.
Looking Ahead
This weekend is expected to bring a dusting of fresh snow up high, the most currently forecast to come in Sunday night. Freezing levels could be on the high side.
In terms of avalanche problems, watch out for windslabs in the alpine where new snow has moved around. The persistent slab is also still getting results in snowpack tests, so while hard to trigger, we saw that it has the ability to create big, dangerous avalanches. This weekend, I'd be on the lookout for the potential for smaller upper snowpack avalanches – wither wind slabs or loose wet depending on conditions – to step down and trigger this layer.
This week, we also wanted to take a step back and look at our snowpack overall. The good news is that we're still doing better than last year, the bad news is that it's not by that much. And, it's still well below average. That being said, March has delivered some amazing storms these last few years, so let's all hope that we get a good blast of spring powder in the weeks to come.
Upcoming Events
We've got two big events this week that might be of interest:
- Tonight, I'm teaching an Intro to Wilderness First Aid workshop at Mt.Waddington. Starts at 6:00, tickets are $10 and proceeds from the workshop series go to Chilliwack SAR.
- Saturday, we're holding a Community Backcountry Day up at Falls Lake/Zoa with our friends at the Hope Mountain Center. All are welcome. Come for everything, one of the clinics, some coffee, or just stop Mountainview for apres!
- 9:00 - Free coffee and some companion rescue practice
- 10:30 AST-1 refresher tour to Zoa and guided snowshoe to Falls Lake. Both require registration. Your small donation all goes to the Hope Mountain Center.
- 4:00 - Apres at Mountainview Brewing in Hope.
