Lawinenlagebericht

East Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
Auf der Karte ansehen

Lawinengefahr

Sun
Hochgebirge
1 · Gering
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

While the danger for Saturday isn't significant, there are a few things you can be aware of, especially on very steep, unsupported slopes at upper elevations. While unlikely, even small avalanches in extreme terrain could be consequential. Look for any recently formed drifts, loose avalanches or cornices in the off-chance that they fall. Expect the avalanche danger to increase during the weekend with a coming storm. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Unlikely
    Größe
    1

    Westerly winds are increasing enough to blow snow and change conditions. However, there's not much snow available to form new slabs. At the highest elevations in steep, unsupported terrain, you might be able to trigger an avalanche. You may see loose dry avalanches on really steep slopes due to the newly transported snow. Avalanches will be small, but they could still be a problem if they push you into rocks or off of cliffs.

    While the temperatures are cooling, it's still worth staying aware of any overhead cornice hazard. Cornices have been known to fall well after the peak of warming. If you see more new snow than anticipated, you may be in an area of heightened avalanche danger.

    (2/16/2024)

    An example of blowing snow on Feb 16th created visible halos around peaks near Harts Pass and stiffened snow-surfaces.

    Photo: Drew Lovell

Avalanche Discussion

On Thursday and Friday, observers reported natural wet avalanches on steep, sunny slopes. Some, like the one on Kangaroo Ridge (pictured below) were large. Also on Friday, small, loose, dry avalanches ran in shaded, extreme terrain due to blowing snow. 

Observers reported a number of small skier-triggered and natural wind slab avalanches last week, primarily from upper elevations in wind-exposed terrain. While these avalanches shouldn't be a concern, you may be able to find a weak snowpack structure at upper elevations. 

On shady slopes, at mid and upper elevations, there is up to 1.5ft of recent snow over a stout crust from January 31st. Observers have found a thin layer of weak facets just above the 1/31 (elsewhere early February) crust. In the East Central zone, backcountry travelers have triggered a number of avalanches just above the crust, with the most recent being on the 22nd. With future storms on the horizon, we'll be watching the weak layer as a potential culprit for avalanches. Sunny slopes and lower elevations hold substantially less new snow, if any, over the crust and often don't harbor the associated facets. 

Snowpack information is limited outside of the Highway 20 corridor and Harts Pass. Let us know what you find if you get out into the backcountry!

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