A massive storm that brought cold weather to the Pacific Northwest has left a dusting of snow on the peaks around Squamish. The Chief, which stands just east of town, was visibly snowy as the sun came up before the clouds rolled in.
The “bomb cyclone” knocked out power in homes along the west coast. There were gusts up to 160 km/h at Sartine Island weather station just off the coast of northern Vancouver Island. While most storms like this last only for a few hours, this one is predicted to last for over a day. Environment Canada has issued a warning saying that a metre of snow could fall in mountain passes by the end of the week.
All of this cold weather is welcomed news for ice climbers and skiers looking to swing their tools and hit the slopes early. Ski hills are already open in Alberta’s Canadian Rockies, as ice climbers have been finding good conditions there for the past month – more on Rockies ice conditions here. If you’re looking for ice climbing conditions in B.C. then visit here and here.
The long range forecast for Squamish is cold and wet, which could lead to some amazing ice climbing conditions on the granite walls close to town. Read about how good the Squamish ice climbing was last winter here, and about a new hard Squamish ice route by Tim Emmett and Luca Sommaruga Malaguti climbed last year here.
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