Lawinenlagebericht

West Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
Auf der Karte ansehen

Lawinengefahr

Tue
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
Open full map
Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 3 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

We received about a foot and a half of snow with rain falling almost to the upper elevation band Saturday night. Avalanche activity may slowly decrease Monday but human-triggered avalanches are still possible.  Avoid steep slopes, especially in areas where you notice long shooting cracks or stiffer wind-deposited snow. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Storm Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–2

    Residual storm slab avalanches could fail with a human trigger in the 18 or so inches of new snow that fell Saturday night. Identify locations that are deeper and wind drifted, as those areas are more likely to react to a human trigger. You'll find dry snow at upper elevations, and as you drop toward mid elevations the slab might be moist but it could still fail as a storm slab avalanche.

    If you notice any clues like long shooting cracks or notably stiffer snow, take these as obvious clues to avoid slopes greater than 30°. In general, while the snowpack is adjusting from this foot+ of snow that recently fell consider avoiding steep slopes during your travels on Monday. This is especially the case in high-consequence areas with terrain traps such as gullies, benches, trees, or cliffs beneath you. 

    (12/1/2023)

    An example of a storm slab avalanche from the Baker backcountry which occurred earlier this year. This may be similar to what you might see Monday, especially if the location is wind loaded. SS-ASc-R2-D1.5-I

    Photo: Irene Henninger

  • Loose Wet

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–1.5

    Snow transitioned to rain in the early morning hours of Sunday. A few wet loose avalanches were reported running naturally on steep slopes in the Baker backcountry. We're uncertain whether 24 hours later the snowpack will have consolidated enough that wet avalanche activity will have ended. If you see any new avalanche activity or are sinking deep into wet snow, steer clear of slopes steeper than 30° and travel quickly or avoid the runouts beneath large avalanche paths. 

    Example photo: Wet loose avalanche activity a previous year in Canyon Creek. Photo: Irene Henninger

Avalanche Discussion

Strong winds from midday Saturday influenced much of the snow at upper elevations. Expect to find variable dry snow surfaces at upper elevations. Lower down the snowpack is moist and punchy  with many early-season hazards still exposed. Warm temperatures are contributing to a rapidly settling snowpack so we expect stability to quickly improve. The largest factor that's keeping us more conservative is that we're not going to get a deep freeze. Freezing levels are only dropping to 5000ft by the end of the day Monday so you can still expect to find very soggy lower elevations. If we're lucky we may get a tiny bit of a surface freeze Sunday night which will contribute to slowing wet snow avalanche activity. 

 

Abgedeckte Regionen