What does the scale above mean to you as a skier or snowboarder in the Gulmarg backcountry? Remember, this advisory is for the Gulmarg backcountry, which means the terrain that is outside of Gulmarg Ski Area. The red areas in the photo below are the Gulmarg backcountry, and the green area is Gulmarg Ski Area. This advisory does not apply to the green zone ski area. Read more here.
For ski area updates during the day please join Gulmarg Avalanche Advisory page on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2jowwOM.
Snowpack Discussion
28 March 2017 – Avalanche danger above Treeline today is Low (1), natural and human triggered avalanches unlikely. Rain is forecasted today with freezing levels above the top of the chair lift. Heavier rain fall at mid day today. There is a possibility of Wet Slab avalanches today during the middle of the day if we receive enough rainfall to “wake up” the weak layer at the new snow old snow interface from the most recent storm. The take home message here is that if there is heavy rain today above and at Treeline, it’s best to avoid all avalanche terrain. Ski in the ski area. Heavier rainfall will bring the avalanche danger to Moderate (2) at Treeline and Above Treeline, with the primary concern being Wet Loose and Wet Slab avalanches on all aspects above 3000 meters.
Below Treeline, avalanche danger is Low (1), natural and human triggered avalanches unlikely. Watch out for unstable Wet Loose snow on steeper isolated terrain features.
http://www.deepsnowsafety.org/index.php/. We now have enough snow in the conifer forests for skiers and riders to get trapped in tree wells and stream holes. Read more about this phenomenon in the link above. It causes several fatalities each year in other ski regions of the globe.
Weather Forecast (link:http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Gulmarg/6day/mid)
Ski Area Timings (28 March 2017)
Phase 1 – 9:30am – 4:30pm (last cabin 4:15pm)
Phase 2 – 10:00am – 4:00pm (last cabin 3:45pm)*
Chair Lift – 10:00 – 4:00pm (last chair 3:45pm)
*May need to close early today due to weather.
Beacon Training
Today there are (1) beacons buried on Merry Shoulder. The beacon training area here in Gulmarg is located on Merry Shoulder. The orange dot (see photo below) indicates where a red flag is next to a large birch tree. This is the “point last seen”. Start your search here. We have one, two, and three beacons buried here daily. Please do not dig up the beacons, simply cycle through your Primary (signal) search, Secondary (flux line) search, Pinpoint search, and then Probing. A probe strike indicates the end of your search. If you’re interested in learning more, please come by Gulmarg Ski Patrol base at the bottom of the chair lift.
Next avalanche talk is Tuesday, 28 March 2017 at 7:30pm at Pine Palace Resort. Pine Palace Resort is located in Gulmarg meadow. Talks will continue every Tuesday night at 7:30 pm through 28 March, 2017.