Lawinenlagebericht

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

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

Kernpunkte

Avalanche danger is incrementally ticking up as stormy weather continues to impact the region. Investigate complex and exposed terrain for signs that the snow is wind-loaded and unstable. Red flags telling you to stick to sheltered terrain include long shooting cracks from your equipment, collapsing, and recent natural or triggered slab avalanches.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Precipitation is forecasted to fall in the zone east to west, but true to form, higher snow totals are expected to the west along the Cascade Crest. Wind speeds aren't particularly impressive, but ultimately, when there's a storm, there's wind, and slabs will probably form. Areas near the Crest, namely Bumping Lake, may have some lingering older slabs that, if triggered, would create an avalanche large enough to bury you, so exercise a bit more caution in this area.

    Wind slabs typically form just below ridgelines and on exposed convexities and gullies. Blowing snow, cornices, and fresh drifts will be the most helpful visual clues to look for.  Expect to find wind transported snow on the downwind side of the terrain where you find these features. Pay attention to the feel of the snow underneath your equipment as well; a change to denser feeling snow indicates the wind influenced that spot. Remember, although unlikely to bury you, a small avalanche could knock you over and take you for an unenjoyable ride over hazards such as rocks and cliffs.

    (3/1/2025)

    A wind slab avalanche on Alta Vista in the West South zone. This one likely failed sometime on 2/25-2/26.

    Photo: Andy Harrington

Avalanche Discussion

It will probably feel like a pretty safe day in most of the zone, especially with a lull in the action on Tuesday morning and unimpressive winds all around.  Higher hazard should be fairly relegated to upper elevation, northerly facing terrain. There is a bit of uncertainty, however, in the precipitation forecast. The zone could end up seeing higher snow totals, which would elevate hazard. Many wind slabs could have formed over crusts, which can act as slick sliding and poor bonding surfaces for new snow. Other variable surfaces were previously observed by an NWAC Forecaster traveling around Manastash on Sunday prior to new snow, including surface hoar and lightly faceted snow, which could also be problem layers. Check out her full observation here. When push comes to shove, periods of active weather just aren't days to send it on all your favorite steep and exposed slopes without doing some evaluation first.

If the storm does overproduce, small storm slabs could be on the table at middle and upper elevations. If you are seeing cracking, collapsing, and slab avalanches even in sheltered terrain, dial back your terrain choices and stick to slopes less than 30 degrees.

There is not enough consistent snow coverage below 4500 ft for there to be much avalanche hazard of any kind, but newly exposed rocks and stumps due to previous snowmelt might be obscured by fresh snow so keep an eye out.

Submit an observation to help NWAC Forecasters reduce uncertainty. It can be short, simple, and even anonymous. Visit the Recent Observations page to get an idea of what backcountry travelers are sharing that helps entertain the forecasts in other zones.

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