Mar 13/13 - Report from Limestone

Howdy, it was +7 today and sunny - roads looked like July driving. Its +2 tonight but our slushy yard has firmed up a bit and is crusty again. Forecast is for flurry snow tomorrow turning to rain in the afternoon. Temps are supposed to stay in that +6 range except for Monday when it drops to +4 and is supposed to snow 10-20cms. Our guests (one group out of three came), went down the Flathead today and up into Barnes Meadow. The meadow was set up a bit and they played in there for a while. They then went up the drainage which showed no signs of sliding, sluffing or pinwheeling and rode conservatively up in the Limestone saddle in 20-30cms of snow with no tracks. They said the snow was notably drier up there and they had a good time. They are headed to Rolling Hills tomorrow. The rain in the forecast is supposed to be below that 1600-1800m mark or 5500-6500ft which is typical for this area. That is why there is a stern warning for the trees as the snow is getting soaked which is putting pressure on weak buried layers. Cornices are heavy and when they fall and trigger slides, that snow comes down and engages the wet snow and triggers that too. Joe Trotz, groomer for Crow Snow Riders said he remembered a year like this a long time ago and it rained on conditions like we have now and on that day nothing was safe out there. Karl Klassen used two words in his blog on avalanche.ca...."vigilance...and ....patience". Slopes that appear safer or more stable in the morning are going to be weakened in the afternoon by solar radiation so if you are riding this weekend you must be vigilant, have enduring patience and keep your head and eyes up. Be accepting to the decision of "not here, not now, not today" and be prepared with skills, knowledge and tools. Read the bulletins but go deeper to the forecaster blogs to read the conversations about decision making and possible scenarios. Watch the "Throttle Decisions" video on www.avalanche.ca - it has a cartoon depicting snow conditions and weather and how that plays out in relation to terrain and human triggers. Its a start to understanding the risks. Be careful and be safe...V