Lawinenlagebericht

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Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Sun
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
2 · Mässig
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 6 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Continued snowfall and wind are loading some slopes, and you could trigger a 1-2 foot thick avalanche in steep, upper elevation terrain. Watch for fresh drifts of windblown snow. While unlikely, we can't rule out triggering a huge, 4-5 foot thick avalanche—especially on very steep, rocky, wind-affected slopes. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Around 6-8" of snowfall has accumulated over the past 48 hours and more is in the forecast today. This snowfall has been accompanied by periods of moderate westerly winds, and you're likely to find fresh wind drifts and slabs along upper elevation ridgelines. An observer in the Sawtooths yesterday reported seeing a medium-sized debris pile, likely from a natural wind slab avalanche.

    These fresh wind slabs are likely to be soft, but still slightly denser than snow on more sheltered slopes. Watch for these fresh drifts in wind-exposed, upper elevation terrain. Avoid steep and/or consequential slopes where you find evidence of wind drifted snow.

    ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION:There are two additional problems that are unlikely to produce avalanches but that you should keep on your radar nonetheless:

    1. A layer of surface hoar buried 2-3 feet deep has seemed to have given up the ghost, but it's worth digging a quick snowpit to look for a thin gray stripe. A quick stability test can help you determine if you've found an isolated slope where it remains an issue.
    2. The December facets still lurk near the base of the snowpack buried beneath a very dense, 4-5'+ slab. It would take being in the wrong terrain, as well as a dose of bad luck, to trigger this layer. So what's the wrong sort of terrain? Slopes that are very steep, rocky, and wind-affected. 

    The ongoing snowfall has been accompanied by periods of moderate westerly winds, and you're likely to find fresh wind drifts and slabs along upper elevation ridgelines.

Avalanche Discussion

The avalanche conditions are almost always a good news/bad news situation. First the good news: we're slowly emerging from the deep, dark forest of dangerous avalanche conditions we've been lost in almost the entire winter. And now for the bad news: snowpack stability had become extremely variable across the forecast area. What this means is that you'll need to do a bit more homework to fully understand the conditions in the area you plan to ride in. Here are some tips to help you know before you go:

  • Understand what zone you're heading to. If you don't know, our new Trip Planner tool can help you locate yourself within our forecast zones.
  • Read the forecast carefully, paying attention to clues indicating where you're more likely to trigger slides.
  • Form a guess as to the average depth of the snowpack where you're headed. Where the snowpack is deeper than about 4', you're likely to find more predictable conditions. Where the snowpack is shallower, expect to find more variation as you move from slope to slope—especially in those areas exposed to the wind.
  • Hot tip: skiing and riding on wind-sheltered, mid-elevation slopes is very good right now, especially further north where more new snow has piled up. By sticking to these sheltered slopes, you can avoid most of the risk of triggering a slide.

Be sure to catch up on the happenings this past week in Ethan's latest Weekend Update.

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