Lawinenlagebericht

East Slopes Central

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 3 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Expect increasing danger with a few more inches of snow and a substantial uptick in winds. Slabs should be fresh and reactive, and have some potential to step down and become larger than you'd expect. Look for signs of instability like shooting cracks or whumphing collapses, and be ready to navigate around steeper features.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Increasing winds will drift the recent snow into more cohesive slabs on exposed mid and upper elevation slopes. These could be surprisingly reactive, as they may form over weak snow on a crust. These could be 8"-20" deep in favored locations. Use caution to evaluate steeper slopes, especially if you observe active wind loading, shooting cracks or hear whumphing collapses. Likely spots to find these wind slabs are below sharp ridgelines, at the top of confined gullies, or the base of cliffs. Textured surfaces, deeper drifts, and cornice formations can also help you identify likely wind slab locations. 

    Weak snow and crusts from the Solstice warrant consideration on Friday and through the weekend. Any shallow wind slab could step down to this slightly deeper layer and become a larger and more destructive avalanche. 

    (4/8/2023)

    You may be able to trigger shallow wind slabs like this on Thursday. 

    Photo: Mission Ridge Ski Patrol

Avalanche Discussion

New snow has been trickling in since the new year. Another 2-5" may fall by the end of the day on Friday, but the winds may be a more impactful player for mid and upper elevations. Strong westerly winds may readily transport snow during the day. A stronger storm is expected to arrive by evening, and avalanche danger will only increase with it. Lower elevations may warm up once again, so expect to see rollerballs and potential for very small wet slides by mid day. 

The snowpack in the zone is made up of a number of potential weak layers and crusts, all generally in the upper foot or two. An observer reported whumphing collapses from Jolly Peak at 6,500ft on Wednesday, and others found sudden results with snowpack tests. These can be attributed to a layer of recently buried surface hoar and/or facets over a thin crust from 12/30. Though we haven't seen avalanches on it yet, we just haven't had enough new snow on it to react as a cohesive slab yet. This could change during the day on Friday as winds blow. Below this fragile crust are more crusts and weak snow. The Solstice crust is another layer that has produced large slab avalanches with control work at Mission Ridge on December 30th. Other observers in the Enchantments reported wide whumphing collapses around the same time. As slabs become more connected and we add more snow, these slightly deeper layers warrant more consideration.

The snow cover is still shallow. You may encounter exposed creeks, rocks, and logs at lower and middle elevations. 

If you get out, let us know what you see by submitting a public observation!

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