Lawinenlagebericht

West Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Fri
Hochgebirge
4 · Gross
Waldgrenze
4 · Gross
Unterhalb
4 · Gross
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Kernpunkte

Avalanche danger is high, and natural avalanches that can kill you are likely. Thursday is a day to avoid traveling in all avalanche terrain, including lower angle or flat areas beneath large, steep slopes. You can still travel in mellow terrain in the backcountry - just make sure it's away from steep overhead slopes. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Storm Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Very Likely
    Größe
    2–2.5

    You can get killed in an avalanche on Thursday. Human triggered avalanches are very likely and natural avalanches are likely.  We're receiving well over a foot of snow Wednesday night and similar amounts are coming in during the day. Strong winds will redistribute much of the snow. It's going to be wild weather out there. Stick to low angle terrain if you get out, far away from steep overhead slopes. All steep slopes and the lower angle terrain beneath them are suspect.

    Avalanche danger will increase throughout the day as more snow falls, temperatures rise, and the wind peaks midday. Avalanche depths could be 3 feet or deeper, failing under the new snow layer. Some avalanches may only break 6 inches or a foot down within the new snow layer. You can expect more activity on wind loaded slopes, but all steep slopes are suspect for Thursday. Avoid all avalanche terrain. 

    Avalanches from higher elevations may be large enough that they could run down to the lower elevations via tight gullies or open, minimally treed paths. Beware of travel even at lower elevations where it's only raining or snow isn't too deep, yet you are connected to snow-covered slopes far overhead. 

    (3/15/2022)

    This is an example photo of something like what might happen in Thursday: A large storm slab avalanche, probably running on the old snow surface approximately 3 feet deep on Hemispheres.

    Photo: Adam Ü

Avalanche Discussion

Near the top of the lower elevation band we expect well over a foot of snow to fall, but further down we may just see rain. Small amounts of wet avalanche activity may occur in the lower elevation band, near the rain/snow interface on Thursday. Keep following the advice to avoid steep slopes and terrain under steep slopes if snow is wet and heavy, if you see rollerballs or small wet slides. 

It was snowing and blowing in the West North zone over much of Christmas day. Plenty of low density snow was present, but it was still highly wind affected. We didn't receive any reports of avalanche activity, but that's not to say they didn't happen. The freezing line has been hovering higher than usual for much of this winter, but we finally saw some cooling in the last week and snow began accumulating once again at mid elevations. 

Anywhere from 1-2 or more feet of snow on Wednesday sits over the Solstice (12/21) Crust, which will more than double on Thursday. We don't expect any avalanches to happen below that layer. Depending on where you are in the zone, there may be different amounts of snow falling Wednesday night and Thursday, and avalanche danger may differ from the forecast. 

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