Lawinenlagebericht

Olympics

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Sun
Hochgebirge
4 · Gross
Waldgrenze
4 · Gross
Unterhalb
3 · Erheblich
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 4 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Avoid all avalanche terrain on Saturday as water penetrates a dry and layered snowpack. The resulting wet avalanches including slabs are notoriously destructive and difficult to manage. Although we have a lot of uncertainty about where avalanches will fail, we are confident that you shouldn't put yourself in harm's way to find out.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wet Slabs

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

    Similar layered snowpacks around Paradise and Mt. Hood witnessed large wet slab activity on Friday with heavy rainfall. The heavy precipitation will arrive at Hurricane Ridge on Saturday - a day to keep it simple and stay out of harm's way. We have a snowpack that has shown a lot of variability with slope, aspect, and elevation.  Saturday will be the second day of above-freezing temperatures for most areas, but with heavy rainfall bringing more than 1" of liquid water during the day, the water may percolate and impact deeper weaknesses within the snowpack. The 12/8 surface hoar remains on our mind as a weak layer that could fail in widespread areas. There are also crusts deeper in the snowpack that might serve as bed surfaces for very large avalanches. Wet loose avalanches may also step down to some of these layers. Saturday will not be a day to try to nuance the wet avalanche problem. Wet slabs are notoriously difficult to manage because you can't predict when the water will impact any given weak layer and cause it to fail. Given all the uncertainty, avoid all avalanche terrain including any open slope steeper than 30 degrees. 

    (12/23/2022)

    Example from the nearby West South zone where a similarly layered snowpack exists and significantly mroe rain fell on Friday.

    Photo: NPS Rainier Rangers

Avalanche Discussion

Photos in the media gallery depict avalanche activity and a cold, layered snowpack prior to the current warm-up.

Friday was warm with rain to the ridgeline and freezing rain at lower elevations. It is unclear whether enough ice formed at lower elevations to mitigate some impact of rain falling on snow.

Prior to the recent storm, soft, dry snow remained abundant on many aspects. But expect a rapidly changed snowpack if you head into non-avalanche terrain on Saturday and bring waterproof layers.

If you make it out on Friday, share what you saw with us by submitting an observation. The more information we have, the easier it is to produce an accurate forecast so that you can have a safer day in the backcountry. 

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