Fairweather Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 Looks ugly up there for a while..... ZCZC SEASABSAS TTAA00 KSEA DDHHMM WAZ012-017-018-019-025-042-ORZ011-081800- ********************************************************** FOREST SERVICE NORTHWEST WEATHER AND AVALANCHE CENTER ISSUED THROUGH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE, WA ********************************************************** SPECIAL AVALANCHE STATEMENT FOR THE OLYMPICS, WASHINGTON CASCADES AND MT HOOD AREA These statements apply to back country avalanche terrain below 7000 feet. They do not apply to highways or operating ski areas. ********************************************************** 930 AM PST 7 January 2004 ********************************************************** ........AVALANCHE WARNING FOR HIGH TO EXTREME AVALANCHE DANGER CONTINUES IN THE OLYMPICS AND WASHINGTON CASCADES ON WEDNESDAY..... The USFS Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center has issued an Avalanche Warning for high to extreme avalanche danger on Wednesday in the Olympics and Washington Cascades. This is due to heavy new snowfall and a major warming trend, with the new deep relatively high density snowfall generally accumulating over weaker lower density snow. Natural or triggered avalanches may step into the lower density snow and entrain snow down to crust layers from December especially near and west of the Cascade crest where snowfall is expected to be heaviest. Travel in avalanche terrain should be avoided or confined to low angle terrain away from avalanche path run out zones. For details see the mountain weather and avalanche forecasts at www.nwac.noaa.gov. This statement will be updated as warranted. ********************************************************** Backcountry travelers should be aware that elevation and geographic distinctions are approximate and a transition zone between dangers exists. Remember there are avalanche safe areas in the mountains during all levels of avalanche danger. Contact local authorities in your area of interest for further information. NWAC Mountain Weather Forecasts and mountain weather data are also available by visiting our Web site at www.nwac.noaa.gov. Ferber/Forest Service Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center NNNN Quote
ChickenShiite911 Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 That report is nothing but a far right-wing conspiracy in order to keep the nature loving politically-correct climbing and skiing enthusiasts out of the backcountry so that we not witness the destruction wrought on the wilderness by the capitalist bourgeois-industrialist yellow running dogs. Quote
chelle Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 Hey Chicken- Keep it relevant or it goes to spray. Quote
HRoark Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 Hey Chicken- Keep it relevant or it goes to spray. Flexing the old moderator muscles, eh? Fascist!!! Quote
mattp Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 That report is nothing but a far right-wing conspiracy ... Maybe so. I notice it was a forecast for Wednesday January 7, and it was posted here on this board at 10:00 pm on the 7th, and the message from Fairweather was that it is going to be bad out there "for a while." With fluctuating freezing levels and additional rain and snow predicted for the next several days, I am sure conditions will change and this current avalanche warning may be removed while Fairweather goes out there and pulls the first ascent of the century behind our backs! That *&%$ must have paid off the staff at NWAC, and maybe the higher ups at NOAA as well as the owners of this site. Seriously, a warning of extreme hazard on Wednesday, when heavy snow is falling over deep and uncosolidated light snow on top of an old crust, is not at all surprising. But these kinds of cycles tend to pass quickly around here. Watch ongoing forecasts before you conclude you have to stay home this weekend. Quote
HRoark Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 Am I wrong in thinking that this warming trend will actually help consolidate the massive amounts of snow we've received in the past few days? Quote
AlpineK Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 Yes it will consolidate the snow. You just don't want to be part of the consolidation. Quote
lummox Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 (edited) end to the drought? Edited January 8, 2004 by lummox Quote
marylou Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 I was looking at the nwac yesterday thinking t would be a good time for this BC snow n00b to go dig a snow pit and do some examining. Am I right? Quote
iain Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 only problem is in this area is you have to dig deep to find snow cycles because the events here are so epic! Quote
mattp Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 Anytime is a good time to dig a pit, and for the next few days the conditions are likely to be quite variable and with blustery weather and likely shifting winds, I wouldn't be surprised to see different structures in the upper-level snowpack from one slope to the next. While I'm not sure you are going to see a more interesting profile now than any other time, this is a time when I would be likely to dig pits and make some decisions based on what I found. Quote
marylou Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 Cool! Thanks a lot. If I can find enough ambient light to make it worth my while, I'll dig one at Alpental tonight. With any luck, I'm going to be on a press junket to do the Pro Guide Service Avy 1 class next weekend, and I really want to have this pit digging thing under my belt one time before the class. That and I maybe should learn how to put the skins on my skis. Quote
fern Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 low light conditions might make it more interesting actually. It'd force you to identify layers by feel rather than sight. Quote
Dru Posted January 8, 2004 Posted January 8, 2004 Digging a pit during high avalanche conditions one should be extra careful because it totally sux to be standing in a pit and get hit by an avalanche as you can get buried extra deep and have even less chance to dodge or run. If you just want to see layers you can always dig the pit in an area of relatively flat ground next to a parking lot or something though you should watch out for stuff like snowplowed snow or buried jibbing structures. Also if the ground is flat it is hard to get a Rutschblock to fail... Quote
Figger_Eight Posted January 9, 2004 Posted January 9, 2004 Yup. The idea with a good pit is to find a representative slope and aspect. Sometimes finding the ideal place to dig a pit puts you in harms way. If you're just doing it for shits and giggles, stay high and in the trees. Quote
ChickenShiite911 Posted January 9, 2004 Posted January 9, 2004 Figger Eight: Your choice of words, "...doing it for shits and giggles," has me wondering if the only circumstances that would justify the risk of digging a pit other than, "high and in the trees," would be like a SAR mission for plane crash survivors, or maybe trying to save some other climbers who fell into a crevasse a had only hours to live before dying of dehydration and HAPE or HACE, (because their decadron supply has run out and the batteries in their radios are going dead) and you're like their only chance to live, so you go ahead and dig a pit on an avalanche prone slope in order to make sure that you don't get avalanched on while you're trying to get to them with your nitroglycerin. Is that what you meant to say? Quote
ChickenShiite911 Posted January 9, 2004 Posted January 9, 2004 (edited) Figger Eight: Your choice of words, "...doing it for shits and giggles," has me wondering if the only circumstances that would justify the risk of digging a pit other than, "high and in the trees," would be like a SAR mission for plane crash survivors, or maybe trying to save some other climbers who fell into a crevasse and had only hours to live before dying of dehydration and HAPE or HACE, (because their decadron supply has run out and the batteries in their radios are going dead) and you're like their only chance to live, so you go ahead and dig a pit on an avalanche prone slope in order to make sure that you don't get avalanched on while you're trying to get to them with your nitroglycerin. Is that what you meant to say? Edited January 9, 2004 by ChickenShiite911 Quote
Dustin_B Posted January 9, 2004 Posted January 9, 2004 I'll dig one at Alpental tonight. Just make sure you fill in the hole when your done so you don't hurt any other skiers... Quote
marylou Posted January 9, 2004 Posted January 9, 2004 Well, I was too lazy to dig a hole last night, and now the avy danger has gone down...oh well! Quote
Figger_Eight Posted January 9, 2004 Posted January 9, 2004 ummmm...huh? Sometimes when I'm out screwing around I like to dig hasty pits just to see what kinds of layers are under there, that's all. If you're out skiing and you want to examine a slope you need to cross or you want to make tracks on, then you sometimes have to poke around on an avy prone slope. All I'm saying is if yer digging a pit just to dig a pit, you don't need to go to avy slopes to do it. You'll be able to see different layers of snow in the trees or on tops of ridges just the same. Quote
marylou Posted January 9, 2004 Posted January 9, 2004 I still would have had to wade out into the snow and do the work....and it was a tossup between snowPIT and snowCAP, but the beer won! Quote
Dru Posted January 9, 2004 Posted January 9, 2004 now the avy danger has gone down... if i get killed in an avvy this weekend my estate will sue you for misinformation Quote
marylou Posted January 9, 2004 Posted January 9, 2004 That's okay, all they'll get is some dryer lint and a fussy little cat anyway! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.