Whistler Stoke and Conditions - 2011/2012

[TeCeBe]

The JC-Glacier sign line was open and those lines (Staircase-->Daveys) skied real nice. Good coverage.

The high road was temporary boundary. Patrol Trees could use another dump but were quite good, especially for November. I did manage to find something hard with your old EHP's in Patrol Trees. No real damage but something worth consideration.

Skied out to the valley on LGJ and it was schmoo but the coverage was there. When the Alpine cracks its going to be on. Lots of snow up there.

[Jaffa]

High line to 7th was legit closed, not temporary closure. Friend was stopped by patrol, warned, pass photographed just after the signline on the flats.

There was some good snow out there today but some hidden hard, scrapy things too in some areas.

[powder11]

1st laps down liftline, bite, etc... were fucking epic. smashing pillows in the bite and not hitting rocks on opening day is fucking all time. skied trees all the way to excellerator. sure didn't think that was gonna happen! lots of fuckery down the creek by in the spirit, but made for interesting line choice. lots of snow, but just enough to be dangerous. watch out for that tip of the iceberg! tomorrow is gonna be just as sick if not more sicker! wooot wooot!

[TeCeBe]

High line to 7th was legit closed, not temporary closure. Friend was stopped by patrol, warned, pass photographed just after the signline on the flats.

There was some good snow out there today but some hidden hard, scrapy things too in some areas.

Wooops. Well its only illegal if you get caught I guess. BTW y'all can go back to Whistler tommorow ya bunch of 'merican turkeys. I heard its just sick over there. Blackcomb is done.

[PulverSchwein]

Tomorrow will be awesome lots of wind rolling over into the bite etc end of day loading it up

Hit some rockie whoops pretty hot and ripped off my binding heel piece on the rock skis 2nd run heading over to do bite again. Had to chase run away skis and hit village for rentals

[powder11]

Blackcomb is done.

except that Crystal is cracking tomorrow. git some!

[Dee Hubbs]

Who is this Crystal Girl everyone is talking about? She must be really popular, I head somebody in the lift line say that "she takes 3 at a time!"
I can't wait.

[Flake]

I hear Crystal makes good waffles in her hut.

[point it]

I like to fraggle her rock whenever i get a chance

[Dee Hubbs]

NSFW!
http://thephotographer4you.com/2010/...-blue-waffles/

[frodo]

NSFW!
http://thephotographer4you.com/2010/...-blue-waffles/

Arrrggghhhh! my eyes!!

[t.odd]

NSFW!
http://thephotographer4you.com/2010/...-blue-waffles/

Ullr is not pleased with this, dude

[filthyfrenchbum]

Hum. 2 laps in the outer limits burn, then one high into cbc. Sexy times. The soreness keeps increasing, sort of glad I'm working the next few days.

[Snowboard Professor]

NSFW!
http://thephotographer4you.com/2010/...-blue-waffles/

The Snowboard Professor fucked that last night. Didnt taste like blueberries, good times though.

[Schemeboat]

NSFW!
http://thephotographer4you.com/2010/...-blue-waffles/

please do not share your home photos with us.

[gramboh]

The JC-Glacier sign line was open and those lines (Staircase-->Daveys) skied real nice. Good coverage.

The high road was temporary boundary. Patrol Trees could use another dump but were quite good, especially for November. I did manage to find something hard with your old EHP's in Patrol Trees. No real damage but something worth consideration.

Skied out to the valley on LGJ and it was schmoo but the coverage was there. When the Alpine cracks its going to be on. Lots of snow up there.

Thanks for the info, how are the EHPs working out anyway? Don't think I saw you up there last season that I can remember.

For peeps up today, what's the coverage in CBC like? Must be pretty decent by now if Excelerator trees are even an option. Debating rocks skis for the weekend, maybe I'll take them Saturday just to be safe. Freezing level back up to 1500m tomorrow according to the forecast, but dropping Sunday. Will be fun either way, and it's not even December yet.

[JimLad]

Rock skis are for pussys

[skiingnow]

For peeps up today, what's the coverage in CBC like? Must be pretty decent by now if Excelerator trees are even an option. Debating rocks skis for the weekend, maybe I'll take them Saturday just to be safe. Freezing level back up to 1500m tomorrow according to the forecast, but dropping Sunday. Will be fun either way, and it's not even December yet.

CBC Coverage surprisingly good. You don't need rock skis, but maybe sharpen your edges after this weekend...

[LeeLau]

Patrollers







Where\s Joe



CBC

[Maximus Farcisimus]

Alpine still seems troubling. That nasty 2.5m above the camel humps. Flute chutes ran all the way across the flats to where everyone changes over. Bushrat too.
Friday Peak opening.......we will see.

[Mr.Movember]

whistler site is predicting at most 150 cm over the next two days! can someone with more snowpack knowledge then me say if this is going to be good or bad for avalanche/openings?

[skiingnow]

no alpine this weekend.

Funky stuff going on back there and this snow is coming in pretty heavy.

Avi forcast for W/B over the next three days is HIGH - Extreme - High in the Alpine.

http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/wea...sory/index.htm

[Schemeboat]

this could be good and this could be bad, depending on the FZL next week after the storm. All of this loading might be helpful in continuing the current cycle that is failing on the nov crust facet and stepping down to the depth hoar (facetting) that is last years snowpack. There is also a halloween crust that I haven't seen, but I haven't been digging pits in the WB alpine.

a great read (and blog):
http://www.avalanche.ca/cac/bulletins/forecaster-blog

and from Karl Klassen on the 23rd:
I think it’s pretty clear things are touchy right now. Size 3s hitting valley bottom in the Columbias, 3.5s logging mature timber and extending trimlines in the Lizard Range, lots of snow, rain, wind, and warm temperatures. The season is starting with a bang. And, while I’m sure everyone is hunkered down sitting this one out or staying out of avalanche terrain—right? I know we’re all excited about getting out there and hitting it when the storm ends and the weather clears. Before you do that though, I’d like to talk a bit about how to approach the mountains after a big storm like the one we’re in now.

After the storm ends, there are a number of weather scenarios that could play out and how they affect stability will be different depending on the character of the snowpack. Please keep in mind that what follows is generalization. It’s intended to educate and inform you about how things work and help you develop big picture strategies rather than give you a recipe for deciding which slope to ride when.

Everyone recognizes that big storms are usually associated with big avalanche cycles. The question is how to get out there after the storm ends and maintain adequate levels of risk. How long instability will persist after a storm has to do primarily with temperatures and settlement. The effects of both are different in the short term than the long term. Warm temperatures promote settling, which is a good thing—it leads to a more uniform, strong snowpack with fewer layers and better bonding between the layers. This takes some time. In the short term, warmer temperatures mean weaker bonds between snow grains and snow layers (the snow is less frozen, so to speak). Cold temperatures promote stronger bonds between grains and layers (the snow is essentially more frozen) which is a good thing. This is a short term good thing however because cold temperatures inhibit settling so it takes longer to get a nice, solid, uniform snowpack if indeed you ever get there. Following are some scenarios to illustrate my point and hopefully help you when you go out into the mountains after a storm ends.

A warm (say -2, -3 degrees C) storm followed by cold weather (-6ish to -10 or so): You’ll see rapid stabilization of the warm snowpack and a fairly quick end to natural avalanche activity. Human triggering persists for a short while then becomes progressively more difficult. This is often referred to as “tightening” as in “the snowpack is tightening up.” If the cold deepens (say to -20) and lasts, all avalanche activity is likely to cease. However, weak layers in the snowpack are not settling and bonding. In fact, they may be getting weaker, and everything is held in place only by the strong, frozen bonds in the snow above the weak layer. When the weather changes, say it warms and the frozen bonds in that upper layer weaken again or it snows some more and adds load, these weak layers sometimes “reactivate” and you see another round of avalanche activity before settlement and bonding finally does away with the weak layer.

In this scenario, don’t get fooled by the initial rapid cessation of avalanche activity. Wait for a while until you are sure things have stabilized. This generally takes two or three days depending on how warm the initial conditions were, how cold the subsequent cold spell is, and the nature of the weak layers in the snowpack. Be wary of large or steep slopes with high consequences when you start to push out. Most importantly, be prepared to pull back in when the weather breaks so you don’t get caught by surprise if a lingering weak layer reactivates.

A cold storm followed by warm weather: You’ll likely see avalanche activity continue or even increase after the storm ends. This is often accompanied by “upside down” conditions where warmer, more settled, and more cohesive snow lies over colder, less dense layers making for difficult trail-breaking. In relatively short order (say 36-48 hours) avalanches in the upper part of the snowpack will generally stop. If there are weak layers deeper in the snowpack, they will continue to be a problem for longer but if conditions stay warm without more storm activity, deeper layers settle and bond eventually. How long this takes depends on various factors such as the characteristics of the deep weak layer and how far below the surface lies.

In this scenario, wait 48-60 hours to let the storm snow instabilities settle out then cautiously move into steeper, more aggressive terrain, starting with smaller, lower consequence slopes. Ensure there are no lingering deep instabilities before venturing into larger, steeper, more complex terrain features.

Cold storm followed by cold weather: More than likely activity will taper off slowly regardless of whether it’s a storm instability or a deeper layer at play. Plan to wait longer than normal before starting to poke out into more aggressive terrain; several days or a week for storm related instabilities and longer, of course, if a deeper more persistent instability is the player.

Warm storm followed by warm weather: This is a typical coastal situation. Intense avalanche activity during the storm to essentially bombproof conditions in 12-24 hours or so. (Barring deep instabilities of course). Wait 24-36 hours then check things out by starting on smaller low consequence slopes.

These are, of course, simplistic scenarios and real situations are often much more complex and involve characteristics of more than one of these snowpack, storm, or post-storm scenarios. Hopefully this brief overview helps improve your ability to understand CAC warning service products and aids you in managing your risk in the mountains.

[JimLad]

Tonight
Cloudy. Very heavy snow.
Freezing level: 1800 m
High: . Low: -1. Winds: SW 40-60 kph Accumulations: 70-90 cm

Sunday
Cloudy. Heavy snow in the morning, snow flurries in the afternoon.
Freezing level: 1800 m early, then drop to the village
High: -1. Low: -7. Winds: WNW 40-60 kph Accumulations: 45-60 cm

Gulp

[Dave Marshack]

Yup, i am at the top of blackcomb right now, no vis and wet ass snow is coming down like crazy.