Lawinenlagebericht

Togwotee Pass

Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Sun
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
Keine Stufe
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 3 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

New snow combined with strong, gusty winds will form fresh slabs. Use cautious decision making as weak layers buried 2-3 feet deep will be stressed by new snow and continued wind transport. Avoid steep, wind loaded slopes where triggering an avalanche is likely while carefully evaluating the snowpack and your terrain choice.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    New snow combined with strong, gusty SW/S winds will form sensitive slabs. Slabs depths will range 1-2 feet. Shifting winds of strong intensity will form new slabs across a large array of aspects in both the middle and upper elevations. Watch for increases in reactivity throughout the day even in unsuspecting terrain as intense wind continually transports snow. The key takeaway today is to monitor these changing conditions and use heightened caution in areas with higher amounts of new snow. Avoid wind loaded slopes by looking for terrain with rippled textures, stiffened surfaces, drifts and cracking.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1.5–2.5

    The March 20th interface is now buried 1-3 feet deep above a stout slab. Active loading of new snow with heavy wind transport will add stress and increase the chance of triggering a large avalanche. This layer is composed of facets/crusts on solar aspects and small preserved facets on northerly aspects protected by the sun. The sensitivity and distribution of this layer is hard to gauge due to the varying slab depths, recent temperature fluctuations, and differing characteristics across slope aspects. Remote triggering could occur from gentler slopes above, below, or adjacent to steep slopes. Wind loaded terrain will have the highest likelihood of finding reactivity. Long story short: persistent slab avalanches are unpredictable, so conservative decision making and careful snowpack evaluation are required. 

    Deeper weak layers formed earlier in the season composed of crusts, facets, and depth hoar remain a concern. Triggering a wind slab or persistent slab on the March 20th interface could step down to these layers resulting in a large to very large avalanche.

     

     

    (3/27/2023)

    Avalanche triggered from a low-angle ridgeline in adjoining steep terrain on a NE aspect around 10,000'.

    Photo: Antonioli

Avalanche Discussion

April Fools’

Tricky avalanche conditions will exist today as snowfall amounts have varied across the Teton and Greys forecast zones, while Togwotee sustained more consistency. I’m sure a lot of us have been looking forward to those sunny spring days, but that will certainly not be the case today as you’ll find stormy conditions with continued snowfall and harsh winds. The challenge will be choosing terrain and evaluating avalanche conditions based on what you see out there. The consistent problem will be strong winds creating sensitive wind slabs. The more uncertain problem will be the unpredictable nature of persistent slabs. The easiest option to manage this problem is to simply stay humble, choose the conservative terrain, and wait for conditions to stabilize before riding those steep, challenging zones. Don’t be fooled by this complex snowpack even though it’s April.

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