Lawinenlagebericht

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

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

Kernpunkte

Triggering a 2-4 foot thick slab that breaks widely on buried weak layers is possible. Continue to avoid steep, open slopes greater than 30 degrees, especially if they appear wind loaded. Smaller wet avalanches may occur as the sun melts the surface snow near rocky terrain that faces south. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    2–3

    We're getting to a point where the snowpack may give you minimal feedback before triggering a surprising avalanche. This persistent slab problem is becoming harder to trigger with time, but the resulting avalanche will certainly be large enough to kill you. The recipe for an avalanche exists on most middle and upper-elevation slopes. The Early February Crust (EFC) harbors weak, faceted snow and is now buried underneath a dense 2-4 foot thick slab. This pairing is capable of producing large, destructive avalanches. 

    This serious weak layer of concern requires patience and strict management. These slabs can trigger in surprising ways. You can trigger them from flat or low-angle terrain long distances away from steep slopes, and they can break far above you. Before triggering an avalanche of this type, you may or may not receive any direct signs of instability. Therefore, your best strategy to avoid triggering a large, unsurvivable avalanche will be to avoid travel on or below slopes greater than 30 degrees. 

    (3/2/2024)

    You can still trigger similar sized avalanches. 

    6600 ft on a NE aspect on Darland Mtn. 

    Photo: Katie Warren

  • Loose Wet

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

    The intense March sun will moisten and weaken snow surfaces as the day progresses. Most slopes with a southerly tilt have produced rollerballs and occasional small wet loose avalanches in the past days. With a slight warming trend and sunny skies, look for these to continue on steep SE-W aspects. The first places you'll typically see activity will be steep sun exposed features near rock and cliff bands. Rollerballs and pinwheels are precursors to larger wet loose avalanches. You can anticipate this problem by considering your aspect vs. timing of when you might be on any given slope. 

    (2/23/2024)

    Rollerballs and wet loose avalanche debris below a very steep rocky slope at lower elections. These are the type of places you will see this problem first. 

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

Observers across much of the Washington Cascades, particularly the eastern slopes and the west-south, have reported numerous large avalanches failing on old snow 2-4 ft below the surface. On Tuesday, we heard about another close call with a persistent slab release to the north in the Blewett Pass area. This large avalanche occurred on an east aspect at 6000 ft. In addition to the fatal avalanche accident on Darland Mt on March 1st, another large avalanche on an adjacent slope was remotely triggered by a group of snowmobilers. This widely propagating avalanche occurred on a north aspect at 6300 ft. You can check out the observation here. NWAC forecasters visiting the accident site also reported this separate large avalanche (avalanche observation). These all likely failed on the Early February Crust. 

Despite the drop in danger, you can still trigger large avalanches that can kill you. The danger has dropped because the likelihood of triggering an avalanche gradually decreases as days pass without loading. However, it's important to note that the potential size has stayed the same. Just because the color changed doesn't mean you can't trigger a large avalanche that could ruin your day and many other people's day. 

You're rolling the dice if you decide to ride in steep avalanche terrain. These persistent slab problems require persistent patience. It's not worth jumping into larger terrain features just for the pleasure of riding untracked snow. That action could result in you being pushed at high speeds into rock, trees, or suffocating under several feet of snow. I encourage you to continue to exercise patience.

You can add to the avalanche forecast. Submit your observation here.

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