Lawinenlagebericht

Northern New Mexico

Taos Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Thu
Hochgebirge
1 · Gering
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

Keep an eye out for signs of wind transported snow today. Northeast winds generally strip the majority of our terrain but look for isolated pockets of fresh wind slab in areas susceptible to cross loading. It's becoming more and more difficult to trigger a small persistent slab avalanche. Take the time to identify if this problem exists in the terrain you are interested in traveling. Be mindful of the shallower portions around rock outcrops and the margins of the slab as these will be the most likely places to impact those weak layers.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Triggering an avalanche on weak faceted layers beneath stiff slabs is becoming increasingly difficult as we move further away from the last significant loading event.   Not all slopes on N through E aspects have this poor snowpack structure so take the time to assess if the slope you plan to ski or ride has this strong over weak structure.   These hard slabs will easily support the weight of a skier or rider until you find that "sweet spot".  Typically near the margins of the slab and near rock outcrops where the slab is thinner. Although these avalanches would likely be small, the consequences could still be quite high.

     

    The strong over weak snowpack structure you can find on N through E aspects above treeline

Avalanche Discussion

Over the last 24hrs we picked up about 2-4" of new snow from .2-.3" of snow water equivalent (SWE). Winds were moderate out of the Northeast with occasionally strong gusts and temperatures last night have plummeted to the singles digits at 9,000ft and into the negatives above 11,000ft. We'll keep a small chance of snow showers this morning but little to no accumulation is expected. 

Moderate Northeast winds may have formed isolated pockets of fresh wind slab on the leeward side of terrain features. Look for gullies and chutes that may be susceptible to cross loading. These slabs if encountered will be small and soft, but think about the consequences of a small ride if you're over a cliff band or would get swept into a terrain trap.

It's getting harder and harder to trigger a persistent slab avalanche but that doesn't mean it can't happen. This avalanche problem after it's been around for awhile will typically stop giving you the normal signs of instability such as whumpfing and shooting cracks. It's easy to become a little complacent and almost "forget" that it's there. Taking the time to dig and identify if this problem exists is not only important for risk managment and decision making but actually getting your eyes looking at the problem is a healthy reminder that persistent slabs haven't gone anywhere. Be mindful of the shallower portions around rock outcrops and the margins of the slab as these will be the most likely places to impact those weak layers. You can easily reduce your risk by avoiding these slopes all together.

Solar aspects have been taking heat recently and have formed a melt freeze crust that shouldnt be too hard to identifiy during todays single digit temps. The majority of our near and below tree line snowpack though is quickly becoming homogeneous as cold clear nights drive steep temperature gradients that continue to decompose and facet previous layers of concern. There are obvious graupel layers from the 11/23 storm, that have been healing over the last week and we have not been getting this layer to propagate in extended column tests as we are not finding cohesive slabs above these layers. We still have an overall shallow snowpack and natural obstacles such as rocks and downed timber continue to be a hazard. 

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