Lawinenlagebericht

Soldier & Wood River Valley Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Mon
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 4 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

In the Soldiers and near Dollarhide Summit, today's storm is creating fresh drifts that could be easily triggered—these will be most common at upper elevations. Wind drifts will be less common in the Wood River Valley, but keep your eyes open for fresh areas of windblown snow.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    In the western portion of this zone, including the Soldiers and near Dollarhide Summit, new snow and wind are creating fresh wind drifts at upper elevations that you could easily trigger. These will be less common in the Wood River Valley where less snowfall is expected. In the past few days, there have been numerous reports of sensitive wind slabs—including one triggered on Friday by a heli-ski guide stomping cornices along a ridge in the Western Smokys (photo above/right). Today's new round of wind slabs could be more sensitive than the last batch—many will be forming on weak surfaces and slick crusts.

    Most wind drifts will be on the smaller side but will be large enough to knock you off your feet or take you for a ride—so pay close attention to the consequences of the terrain you're playing in. Be on the lookout for drifted or pillowed areas, and avoid steep slopes with evidence of recently loading.

    (3/8/2022) New snow drifting along the Salt Bowns Rd in the Soldier Mtns. 

Avalanche Discussion

Despite the same danger rating as yesterday, today will be more dangerous. Let's call yesterday a "soft" MODERATE, while today will be solid MODERATE. In zones that will get the most snowfall from today's storm—the Sawtooths & Western Smokys and Banner Summit—conditions could be on the upper end of the danger rating. 

If you've read this far, you know that the danger rating is only part of the avalanche equation. Normally 3-6" of new snow and wind would produce a fairly predictable wind slab problem. So what's different today? The 2 months of mid-winter dry weather, that's what. The drought produced a variety of weak layers that are unevenly distributed at both large and small scales. If you were to dig a snowpit on a perfectly wind-sheltered and shaded slope that was above the rain line during the late-Feb/early-March storm, you're likely to find a weak layer of sugary facets and maybe surface hoar down about 12-16". There are also newer weak layers closer to the surface. Unfortunately, once you move away from that "perfect" slope you're likely to find different snowpack layering. 

"Better the devil you know." It's an old saying that means something bad but known is better than something unknown. As we slowly add load to these weak layers—through wind loading today, and a forecasted wetter storm on Tuesday, there's uncertainty about how these layers will react. Avalanche forecasters don't like rolling the dice. Despite the MODERATE danger and relatively low likelihood of triggering a large avalanche, many avalanche professionals are becoming increasingly wary as we slowly add more load. Those of us at the avalanche center are tending to avoid steep slopes at upper elevations that are shaded (more likely to harbor weak layers) and wind loaded (adding more load to the weak layers).  

Catch up on what happened this past week in Ethan's latest Weekend Update.

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