Lawinenlagebericht

Lawinenlagebericht

Payette Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Fri
Hochgebirge
1 · Gering
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 4 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Wet loose avalanches remain possible today. The snowpack is still holding moisture from last week's heatwave. You are most likely to find a damp snowpack on steep, south-facing slopes, shallow areas around rocks, and at lower elevations. Plan your outings early in the mountains and exit steep slopes if you find the snow becoming wet and unstable later in the day.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Loose Wet

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–1.5

    The snowpack is still moist from the 6-day heatwave last week. We've had three nights of freezing temperatures above 7000 feet. Today looks to be cooler with a chance of sun. There's a slight chance of the new snow from Monday becoming saturated and sliding off steep slopes as we saw on Tuesday. However, most of the snow near the surface was moist yesterday and froze fairly solid last night. Even with three nights of freezing temperatures, the upper snowpack is still wet. Yesterday, we observed a moisture-laden snowpack above the 03/01 rain layer. The weather is on our side and cold, clear nights will help re-freeze the upper snowpack. This process takes time. Remember we had 6 days in a row of abnormally warm temperatures. It may take a few more nights to really "lock-up" this snowpack.

    Wet loose avalanches will be most problematic where the snowpack is the shallowest. These thinner areas were holding weak snow before the warmup and after 6 days of heat, transitioned to complete mush to the ground. Watch out for shallow areas around rocks, especially on steep, south-facing slopes and at lower elevations. If you find yourself sinking into wet, mushy snow, find a safe route away from steep slopes. 

     

    (3/30/2022)

    Small, wet loose slides observed in this basin on SE through NE aspects. New snow shed off steep slopes, likely from Tuesday.

    Photo: PAC

Avalanche Discussion

Today's Advisory is sponsored by Brundage Mountain Resort. Thank You For Supporting the Payette Avalanche Center.

The snowpack is in transition yet again. After the 6-day heatwave last week, we look to be trending towards a more stable snowpack. There will likely be a few more days dealing with concerns of deeper wet loose snow problems. The surface snow will begin to freeze solid, but the snowpack needs more time to adjust after several days of heavy saturation. If you are punching through the surface crust into moist, unstable snow below, it's time to get off of steep slopes. 

As we transition to a more "normal" springtime snowpack. We can begin to expect the diurnal freeze and thaw cycle. Through this cycle, the avalanche hazard is low in the morning as the snowpack freezes at night and the hazard will rise throughout the day as the sun begins to heat up the snow surface and increase the likelihood of wet loose avalanches. Your best chances of safe travel during these times are to get out early and begin heading out of avalanche terrain as the snow becomes soft and unstable later in the day.

Cornice failures: Ridgetops have been harboring large cornices all season and we saw some cornices fail during the warmup last week. Be aware of failing cornices overhead. If you find yourself on ridgetops, give plenty of room while traveling around large cornices. 

 

***We will issue our last advisory for the season on Saturday, April 9th, 2022