Lawinenlagebericht

West Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Sat
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 5 months ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Friday's warm temperatures and sunshine could result in wet avalanche activity on steep, sun-exposed slopes. If you are sinking into moist snow deeper than your ankle, head for shadier aspects. Don't get tripped up by one of these small slides near terrain traps or slip and fall in high-consequence terrain.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Loose Wet

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

    Recent snowfall could destabilize in the sunshine and warm weather, resulting in small wet avalanches on steep, sun-exposed slopes. 

    Slides will be larger on the volcanoes or at upper elevations, where there's more storm snow. Elsewhere, you'll likely see wet loose activity such as rollerballing, pinwheeling, or very small fan-shaped slides on sunny slopes. Most of these won't be considered large enough to be called consequential avalanches. 

    Whether an actual avalanche or just some smaller version of a wet slide, don't let one push you over a cliff or into a gully where small slides can become more problematic.

    (12/13/2025)

    Measuring how deep your boot sinks into the snow is a good way to track wet, weak snow on the surface. If you're deeper than your ankle, you can assume slides may be large enough to be consequential.

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

Avalanche Discussion

Snow showers kept producing late Wednesday night, resulting in slightly higher storm totals than we had anticipated. Not that we're complaining, we'll take as much snow as we can get as we try to bury the firm surface that was reported throughout the zone earlier this week. You can expect to find roughly 4-6" of fairly low-density storm snow sitting over a foot-thick crust in most areas of the zone.

This is the snow that you should be concerned about on Friday when it comes to avalanche potential. Whether it is heating up and failing as a loose slide or has been drifted into a shallow slab by the wind, don't get caught off guard by one of these small slides in consequential or extreme terrain. 

The new snow has likely helped alleviate or temporarily mask some travel conditions. But open creeks and holes, frozen avalanche debris, down trees, slick crusts, and bare ground are commonplace right now, particularly at lower elevations or on southerly aspects. Give yourself extra time to manage these hazards.

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