Lawinenlagebericht

Southeast Mountains

Crested Butte Avalanche Center
Auf der Karte ansehen

Lawinengefahr

Sun
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

Large persistent slab avalanches breaking into deeply buried weak layers remain the primary concern in the SE Mountain forecast area. This avalanche problem is the most concerning on wind-loaded terrain features at near and above treeline elevations, while the problem has become isolated in distribution, in wind-sheltered terrain. Consider looking for terrain options where the snowpack is consistently deep and not recently wind-loaded. 

 

 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Persistent weak layers in the middle and at the bottom of the snowpack have temporarily become more reactive on recently wind-loaded slopes at near and above treeline elevations. These slabs are generally hard, will be stubborn to human triggering, but may produce a larger than expected avalanche if released. This avalanche problem has become less common in wind-sheltered areas, with the last notable avalanche having occurred in that terrain on 2/1.

    A large persistent slab that was human triggered on Thursday 2/9 in upper Hunter Creek.

Avalanche Discussion

Cloud cover is forecasted to increase today earlier than previously expected. Those clouds may limit high temperatures by a few degrees. Any loose wet avalanche activity that develops from the periods of sun and above-freezing temperatures is expected to be small. There are lots of wind-affected snow surfaces out there, and that will also help keep loose wet avalanche activity in check. Roller balls are an early warning sign that slopes are heating up, and if you find a couple inches of thick warm snow under your feet, then small loose wet avalanches will have become possible to trigger. 

There are some big differences between our two forecast areas. In the NW Mountain forecast area, this is a great weekend to be traveling in avalanche terrain. Just do your homework and set your sights on a fun objective. Today's potential cloud cover is a little bit of a bummer for the alpine, but the clouds look to clear on Sunday so that should be another great opportunity. In the SE Mountain forecast area, we are in a bit of a stalemate, or more of an entrenched mindset that isn't allowing the same opportunity to step into more aggressive terrain. Last week we observed a couple of natural persistent slab avalanches and one notable human-triggered persistent slab avalanche. These all occurred on heavily wind-loaded slopes. In wind-sheltered terrain, we have observed that the persistent slab structure is faceting away and the problem has become isolated in that terrain. That is the primary reason that we have LOW avalanche danger for below treeline elevations in the SE Mountains.

 Little change is expected to occur in the avalanche conditions over the weekend. So we keep saying, do your homework and enjoy the backcountry this weekend. More snow is back in the forecast for next week. 

 

Abgedeckte Regionen