Lawinenlagebericht

East Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

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

Kernpunkte

Another windy day with a few more inches of snow will to add to the patchwork of isolated wind slabs in exposed terrain. Textured surfaces and sharp drifts can help you interpret local wind patterns and anticipate wind-loaded features.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Over the last few days, several periods of windy weather formed small pockets of wind-drifted snow along exposed features. Avalanche professionals on Sunday reported blowing snow, small cornices, and a few shallow slabs. While wind-affected snow was easy to find, most slabs were stubborn. You’ll likely see more of the same on Monday. 

    Visual clues can help you figure out where wind-drifted pockets may exist. Be leery of these slopes, especially in higher consequence terrain. Watch for pillow-like slabs near the base of cliffs, in the tops of chutes, and along exposed alpine ridgelines.

    (1/7/2024)

    West winds stripped snow from the west facing sides of trees

    Photo: Willie Webster

Avalanche Discussion

Monday will be a relatively quiet weather day for the East North zone. If anything, it will only serve to maintain the existing hazard. That could start to change quickly Monday night as a significant winter storm impacts the region. When will the scales start to tip? Hard to say, but you could begin to see large natural avalanches during the overnight hours. 

“Weak and variable” seems to sum up the snowpack around the zone. Several decomposing crusts and layers of sugary facets can be found. In some locations, these layers present as individual prominent bands; in others, they all meld together. 

NWAC staff near Cutthroat Lake today found near-surface facets forming throughout the terrain. These small weak grains could only add to the list of possible layers of concern going into this storm cycle. They found the upper most snowpack crust about 8in (20cm) below the surface. This layer frequently failed on isolation in snowpack tests. However, at present, the snow above was too light and unconsolidated to pose any risk. The only avalanches they saw were small loose dry slides that may have been triggered by pieces of cornice falling in very steep terrain. They also reported excellent travel conditions. 

Even with the recent snow, coverage remains thin, particularly at lower elevations. Open creeks, rocks, logs, and bushes continue to make travel more difficult than we’re used to for this time of year. These obstacles also serve a nasty terrain traps that could turn even a small avalanche into a nightmare.

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