2017/2018 Van Isle

[shafty85]

Yep - opening the 30th. If conditions are anything like around Washington, should be great.

Snow was excellent quality.

[shafty85]

Back to the same area today. More cold smoke.

View on the way in.


The golden hinde in the distance.


View on the way out.

[shafty85]

Skier triggered slide in west bowl this weekend. No burials but apparently buddy went for a ride (not a local and didn’t provide patrol or any of the resort staff with any information by the time we left Sunday evening). Probably learn more in the next bulletin. stay safe out there and keep your eye on the wind slab formed over the weekend.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[BCJC]

Good info, and great pics above.

[vanisle]

thanks for the heads up Shafty. Slackcountry day tmrw...

[shafty85]

From the bulletin:

Sunday 07 January, 2018 Skier Triggered Avalanche West Bowl Mount Cain
January 10, 2018 at 09:23AM
At an unspecified time Sunday morning 07 January a skier triggered an avalanche at the lower west ridge entrance to the west bowl at Mount Cain at approximately 50° 13.567'N, 126° 20.417'W. The skier reported jumping from the cornice on the ridge into the bowl causing a slab to fail around him. The skier managed to ski out to the left and off the slab. The fracture line varied from about 20cm to 40cm height and was approximately 30 metres wide. It appeared that the slide ran for about 25 metres with debris visible on the first bench below the ridge. However around the same time a second hand account from a snowshoer in the bottom of the west bowl reported that he had "hidden behind a large boulder" to avoid being hit by debris coming down from above. The avalanche triggered from the west ridge was observed after the fact by a VIACS forecaster and appeared to stop on the first bench but visibility was poor. It is possible that either the avalanche continued past the bench to the bottom of the bowl or that the first avalanche triggered a second one that ran to the bottom. This is unknown. The avalanche observed by the forecaster at the ridge was a wind slab of storm snow that was blown in by ESE winds on top of the rain crust which formed on Friday. Rising temperatures also contributed to the tension in the slab. Size estimate for the avalanche off the west ridge is 1.5 whereas if it did indeed run to the valley it would certainly have been at least size 2. There were no injuries or lost equipment.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[shafty85]

It may have been +15 degrees at 1700m on Sunday, but the views were acceptable.

[BCJC]

Might not enjoy those views for a good while... But I'm sure you're fine with that.

I'll be up at Wash on Thurs or Fri, anyone else?

[shafty85]

Though I put little faith in this site, models seem to agree there will be significant snowfall this week/weekend.

The northern resort will get a much needed dusting.



The avy forecast is, predictably, for dangerous conditions. Stay safe.

[jetski]

Holy shit! Wouldn't 80cm in 24 hours shut the place down? Hope you area locals get after it while its snowing! I love storm skiing.

[Kirby]

So..... How is snowmaggedon skiing?

[shafty85]

We were out sledding yesterday (gf got her first sled of her own this week).


We got stuck a bunch.



But had a great day.



The southern resort is closed due to too much snow.



No word from the northern resort and no social media updates (no reception up there) so I assume they’re having the time of their lives.

[vanisle]

what a shitshow

[liv2ski]

^^^^^Wow!!! Looks like some cars need to be dug out.

[shafty85]

Snowboarder dies at Vancouver Island ski resort
Death at Mount Washington Alpine Resort
ERIN HALUSCHAKJan. 23, 2018 8:30 a.m.NEWS






A male snowboarder found unresponsive in a treed area on Mount Washington has died.

Dale Logan, Mount Washington Alpine Resort’s risk manager, confirmed Tuesday morning that on the afternoon of Jan. 22, the snowboarder had been off-piste (ungroomed area) within the resort’s boundary.

The incident has been turned over to the BC Coroner Service.


“This is a very sad tragedy,” stated Mount Washington Alpine Resort general manager Peter Gibson, in a release. “Everyone here at the resort sends our sincerest condolences to the family and friends. I would like to thank our dedicated patrol staff for their assistance.”

Sheila Rivers, marketing manager for Mount Washington, told The Record the area in which the snowboarder was found is considered “outside the runs that we groom.”

She could not confirm if the death was related to the intense snowfall the resort received within the past few days.

At this point in the investigation, the cause of death is unknown.

Rivers noted it is the first death at the ski resort since a Saanich teen died in 2015 while snowboarding.

Reid Michael Kyfiuk, 15, was discovered dead in a three-metre-deep formation known as a “snow hole.”

RELATED: Saanich teen’s 2015 snowboarding death ruled an accidental drowning

According to the most recent report issued by the Ministry of Justice, there were 96 deaths attributed to skiing and snowboarding from 2007 to 2016.

Rivers added the resort cannot confirm if the death occurred in a tree well, and noted the coroner will be investigating further.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[shafty85]

BCJC and I got out for a rip today - excellent conditions and best riding I’ve done to date.

Sometimes we were playing in pow



Other times we dug



Triple peak showed us a glimpse

[vanisle]

Are they keeping the pond at Cain semi maintained for skating? Heading up for the weekend and wondering if we should bring skates and sticks..

[shafty85]

I don’t believe so - not as of last weekend anyway.

A few shots from some fantastic spring weather last weekend.

A little sunset skin



The daytime wasn’t bad either



Someone won some skis
m

Patrol kept the mountain safe

[shafty85]

Got out to Cokely last Sunday with BCJC. With snow in Nanaimo, we had high expectations. We tried to temper our expectations and hopes by reminding each other about the potential avalanche conditions, but even this couldn't keep the excitement out of our voices or off our faces as we geared up.

The road up was pure champagne. Powder blew up in front of us, covering us, muffling our laughter and covering us in pure joy. Sledding is fun, it would seem and even with it being our first time tandeming, it made us feel like heroes.



When we arrived at the meadow at the base of the old resort we found ~60cm of blower on top of a solid and thick MF layer from the previous weeks. A moderate north wind, gusting to strong, was brisk and encouraged us to layer up whenever not on the move.





We skinned up the old resort, enjoying the day and gorgeous views. Slopes with any northly aspect were wind affected, with significantly less snow and a slight stiffness. Cross loading and lees were heavily loaded. We had considered heading for the summit and having a look into the North bowl but evidence of natural activity on Rousseau and the Eastern bowl of Cokely persuaded us to stick to conservative terrain choices. The skiing down was pleasant, though in reality, there was too much snow given the slope angles, but we played it safe given the conditions we had found and seen and powder was skied and smiles were plastered to faces.



The road out provided more enjoyment as the snow had some wind deposit and had no slab properties - just blower pow all the way down with giddy shouts of glee like we were kids again.

All in all, an incredible day.

[shafty85]

Natural activity from post above ^^^

[Norseman]

beauty

[vanisle]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing!

[vanisle]

Today was good. Forecast for the island looks killer for at least the next week.

[abraham]

I thought the first shot was amazing, then I saw the last one!
Someday I'll make it to that island for skiing

[shafty85]

Nice. Absolutely great photos. That the Snowblazers area around Washy?

Abraham - it actually never snows here. I encourage people to continue going to Whistler - I hear there’s fewer people there...