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Weather Reporting |
Alex, who is in Wednesday to Saturday, has about one hour until the first recorded weather information has to be taped and available on the Snow Phone and Snow Report webpage. She needs to record a 6am update for people who are making the trip to Whistler that day.
That first recording is compiled after talking to the groomers. The groomers, who are out on the mountains in the night prepping for the day, are Alex's "eyes on the mountains" and tell her what the conditions are like, new snow, what's groomed and what's looking like will be a great run of the day.
But with 8,171 acres and conditions forever changing; the 6am recording is just the first of five throughout the day.
By the 7:30 am update, Alex has been given the official readings from the avalanche forecasters on Whistler Mountain, Jan Tindle and Anton Horvath. They gather information on snow base and new snowfall from the Pig Alley Weather Station. Pig Alley is located at 1,660 meters/5,445 feet elevation on Whistler Mountain, under the Whistler Village Gondola. As you ride up, you can see the weather plot to your left near tower X.
"Settlement will likely not affect the total snowfall reading between 6-7:30am. New snow will make for a higher base at 7:30am. Settlement is more likely to be reflected if there is no new snow between the morning and afternoon readings," said Tindle.
Although the difference in the snow pack may only be 1-2 centimetres, Alex will update the recordings to reflect the new numbers.
With 8,171 acres to explore it is difficult to summarize what the conditions will be like that day; conditions can vary from Whistler to Blackcomb, and even from run to run.
This is why Alex always describes zones and information that applies to each zone; the peak, mid mountain (Roundhouse on Whistler of Rendezvous on Blackcomb) or the valley. This way there is an actual elevation attached to the numbers such as wind speed, temperatures and visibility.
Pig Alley has been chosen for the official weather forecasting spot because forecasters believe is an accurate snapshot of the average snowfall around the mountains.
"That spot seems to be a bit more protected. We used to use a plot at the bottom of Harmony but we found it wasn't a good average," said Tindle, who has been patrolling for 25 years and has been working as an avalanche forecaster for about 15 years.
Tindle works out of the Whistler Mountain weather office close to the Roundhouse Lodge. This site is an official Environment Canada reporting station and VANOC weather station as well. There, Jan looks at different forecast models to see what the day ahead may bring in the way of weather.
"From experience you can see certain trends coming through," she said.
A good weather forecast is important when trying to plan ahead for the next day.
"We need to have accurate weather data for us to effectively carry out the avalanche control work," she said.
She admits that it can be a stressful job, trying to keep on top of changing weather systems and trying to get the alpine avalanche-safe for the public.
"We're always weighing the risk against getting the terrain open quickly," she said.
There are specific avalanche routes that are laid out over the mountain and 90 per cent of the time avalanche control involves dropping bombs at targets on those routes. But on a big snow day there may be avalanches occurring in areas that are not usually controlled.
"The big things for us in avalanche control are: the snowfall, the wind and the temperature," she said. "The wind and temperature are almost more important than new snow."
Tindle, Horvath and other patrollers spend the morning after a new snowfall preparing the mountain, particularly the alpine, by dropping bombs to purposefully trigger potential avalanches.
They aim to have the alpine open as quickly as possible and are usually gunning for a 10am start. But the patrollers will work until early afternoon to get the alpine safe, even if it mean only a few hours of high alpine skiing and riding for the public. Safety is definitely the number one concern and patrollers definitely appreciate everyone's patience while they work fast and effectively to clear each zone. Then, it's powder time!
A lot can happen on the mountains in the mornings weather wise, that's why an additional snowphone recording at 9am has been added this season.
"9am, 9:30am, that's definitely the most popular time for our guest to start heading up the mountains. By adding this new snowphone recording, we're able to give our guests the latest info, just as they head off for that day. That way, they're able to choose the best gear to wear and equipment to use to have an epic day," says Alex.
For the really slow out of bed or sun seekers, the snowphone is updated at 11am. Conditions such as: wind speed, temperatures, snowfall, and visibility are all reassessed for the afternoon.
The final snowphone recording is ready by 3:30 pm. Why record an afternoon snowphone update just when the mountains are closing you ask? To get stoked for the next day!
The Environment Canada Alpine forecast for overnight and the next day is prepared in the afternoon and is the primary resource for the 3:30pm snowphone recording.
And then it all begins again the next day.
