Saturday, January 3, 2009

jan 3, 2009

24hr snow = 1
base depth = 115
cumulative = 328
freezing level = valley
days riding = 5

five day forecast

day1 sw0-4 day2 s 10-15 day3 3-5 day4 5-10 day5 20-30

haven't been up in a few days, but from what i've heard the alpine avalanche conditions have not improved. there were two more deaths this week in areas that would normally be open to the public but have been closed off due to the elevated risk. i watched a video on cbc.ca yesterday where they interviewed a snowboarder on whistler who was talking about how he made sure to bring a beacon, shovel and probe before entering the area where another rider was killed the day before. that's great - it'll help them to recover your corpse a lot faster.
my buddy said there is evidence of extensive natural slides throughout the alpine. he said there was a 1 metre crown line at the top of shale slope.
on the bright side, the in bounds conditions are much better than they were a few weeks ago. most of the exposed terrain has been covered over safely and the surface conditions have been well preserved due to the continuously cold temps. it was -17C last night. in 6 seasons out here i have never seen a stretch of such cold weather. while it keeps the groomies nice, this is not helping the snowpack improve. looks like we might get a warming trend next week but it remains to be seen how that will impact the alpine conditions. if it's warm enough it may help to trigger a lot of backcountry slides and break down the weak snowpack. can only hope.

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