Avalanche Lecture by Chris Lawrence
Tuesday night training we had a lecture by very experienced ACMG (Association of Canadian Mountain Guide) Chris Lawerence.
Most interesting was his comments on the current snowpack in the coastal range mentioning that it is acting more like a a Rockies snowpack. He also mentioned his route finding this year is extremely cautious and he is taking very conservative routes. The snowpack is very unpredictable this year.
The North Shore Mountains are a little more predictable, however, the avalanche rating changes constantly due to the rapid changes in weather.
I was surprised he described much of the terrain that we travel in outside of the ski resorts as complex as we travel in terrain that has multiple avalanche paths, has many terrain traps, trees and other hazards that could cause issues.
Chris has assisted us on many searches and had a few pictures of examples of North Shore terrain that we should be cautious around. Particularly crossing the thaw line, when the snow pack approaches 0 degrees C, it starts to lose cohesivness and slides are more likely. We very often gain and loss elevation on searches and cross the thaw line, and its important to keep in mind that the avalanche danger at one elevation may be completely different at another.
He also described some of the main hazards on the North Shore are getting swept over cliffs and into trees if you are caught in an avalanche.
He also described using "Extrodinary Safety Measures" when crossing avalanches chutes on the North Shore such as roping up, so as not to be swept off cliffs below.
Most interesting was his comments on the current snowpack in the coastal range mentioning that it is acting more like a a Rockies snowpack. He also mentioned his route finding this year is extremely cautious and he is taking very conservative routes. The snowpack is very unpredictable this year.
The North Shore Mountains are a little more predictable, however, the avalanche rating changes constantly due to the rapid changes in weather.
I was surprised he described much of the terrain that we travel in outside of the ski resorts as complex as we travel in terrain that has multiple avalanche paths, has many terrain traps, trees and other hazards that could cause issues.
Chris has assisted us on many searches and had a few pictures of examples of North Shore terrain that we should be cautious around. Particularly crossing the thaw line, when the snow pack approaches 0 degrees C, it starts to lose cohesivness and slides are more likely. We very often gain and loss elevation on searches and cross the thaw line, and its important to keep in mind that the avalanche danger at one elevation may be completely different at another.
He also described some of the main hazards on the North Shore are getting swept over cliffs and into trees if you are caught in an avalanche.
He also described using "Extrodinary Safety Measures" when crossing avalanches chutes on the North Shore such as roping up, so as not to be swept off cliffs below.
posted by John Blown at
10:44 AM
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