May, 12, 2014, Cascades, Consolidation

This is the Avalanche report for the area around Whistler. For May 14-16 the level is Considerable and High in the alpine.



Danger Scale
Travel
The avalanche hazard will increase significantly today with solar effect and rising temperatures. The freezing level in the Alpine was above zero last night giving no real crust recovery. Be very cautious of solar aspects and avoid travelling in steep thin rocky areas. Cornices are very touchy and should be given a wide berth.
Activity
Yesterday just outside the ski area, a cornice failure was reported to have caused a size 2 avalanche stepping down into the deeper layers.
Snowpack
Isothermal conditions are now beginning to penetrate deeper into the snow pack.
Weather
The ridge of high pressure is expected to strengthen today giving us warm Alpine temperatures and sunny skies through until Thursday.

Fwiw.

About a week ago In the central cascades, monte cristo area, it was prime for sliding big.

On the flat columbia glacier. Supportable crust(until it warmed),on 2 feet of isothermic mush, on top of a 2 inch deterorating crust, on 2 feet more of mush. Didnt investigate any further. I could definatly see it stepping down. Most of the moderate terrain showed no signs of sliding recently. Most steeper terrain getting sun was sliding non stop, here and there.

Didnt get on anything remotely steep. Figure 11'd on the splitboard back to the lake.

A rather timely discussion for sure ...

Here's an excerpt from the NWAC Special Advisory that was posted Tuesday afternoon just before the prior post in this thread:

"Wet snow deeper than a few inches, pinwheels and small natural wet loose avalanches usually precede larger wet loose snow avalanches. Wet loose avalanches should mainly stay within the most recent snowfall but we can't rule out large or very large avalanches entraining wet snow below. Avoid steeper slopes during peak heating, give cornices a wide berth and be wary of terrain traps where even a small but powerful wet loose avalanche can become deep very quickly."

Another Special Advisory was issued Wednesday evening after the tragic incident, even though the Tuesday Advisory stated the next one wouldn't be issued until Thursday afternoon, but based upon a quick read I didn't notice any significant changes.

I just checked the Avalanche Advisory for Whistler area again today - and it was Low everywhere because of a hard crust. Too bad the cold air didn't travel farther south. Apart from Whistler, their Advisories are also shut down for the year, but they provided this springtime information which I thought very good. A read of this information over the last few days would certainly have discouraged most from big objectives during this hot spell.

blogs.avalanche.ca/spring-conditions-scenario-series/

How do you best guard against this?

When dealing with warming-related hazard, I like to travel on days with lower freezing levels than the highest freezing level since any substantial precipitation, preferably by 2k+. Bonus points for a period of lower freezing levels between then and now. It's not a sure-fire method, but it can help.

June 14/15, 2008 shaped my approach to springtime hazard; a lot of people, myself included, nearly got caught-out by partial exceptions to this rule (big dump, big warmup, little-to-no cooling). A friend's advice to "ski it early" on Wy'east Face on the morning of June 14 may have saved solo-me from getting caught in a substantial slide.

Lowell has a lot of useful things to say about 'Mush Season'

www.alpenglow.org/skiing/high-route-tips/part3-mush.html

Great link Charlie.