Lawinenlagebericht

West Slopes Central

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

Kernpunkte

Use clues to help you identify wind-drifted snow deposits, as these are the areas where you can trigger an avalanche on Monday. Search for signs such as snow getting heavier-feeling beneath you, seeing wind-shaped features, or pillowy surfaces, and avoid steep slopes in these areas. Expect to encounter more reactive wind-affected snow as you gain elevation during your day. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Remain vigilant for reactive wind slabs on Monday. Search for deposits of snow in gullies, by ridgelines, around rocky outcroppings, or on steep rollovers.  They may be subtle or hard to identify.  Use your senses to feel differences in the snow from one location to the next. Notice any slight variations in the visual appearance of the snow, like maybe a slight pillow, or smoother-looking snow.  On the contrary, wind drifted snow may have a patterned appearance.

    Use small test slopes where you find wind loading to see if stomping on them can trigger a tiny avalanche. If you can cause smaller avalanches, expect that you could trigger larger avalanches on similar yet larger steep slopes nearby. As you gain elevation you're more likely to encounter reactive wind slabs, as temperatures have remained cooler and wind is stronger at higher elevations.

    (12/3/2022)

    This skier-triggered slab avalanche occurred in the neighboring Snoqualmie zone, yet it's similar to what you might encounter in the West Central zone on Monday. Drifting occurred beneath rocks in very subtle gullies, where snow sneakily deposits. The weight of a human was enough to trigger an avalanche under the slab in this circumstance.

    Photo: Public Observation

Avalanche Discussion

I traveled to both Mt Pilchuck and upper elevations in the Highway 2 corridor in the last week, and found about half the amount of new storm snow at Mt Pilchuck as I found further south.  There's a lot of variety in snow depths throughout the zone, and there are likely also differences in how reactive snow is in some areas compared to others.  Be sure to investigate slopes for changes throughout your travels. We've received 1 to 2+ feet of low density snow in the last week, meaning there is plenty of snow to blow around and redistribute into reactive drifts.  Steep south faces in the more northerly portions of the zone likely got enough sun over the weekend to moisten, and then form a crust. Aside from that,  the snow surface and beneath the surface have mainly remained cool, meaning weaknesses could take longer to strengthen. We haven't seen extensive wind or any precipitation in the last 24+ hours, so it may be harder to trigger an avalanche than a couple of days ago. 

If you get out on Monday, don't hesitate to share information about snow conditions with us by submitting an observation. 

Abgedeckte Regionen