Lawinenlagebericht

Northern Wallowas

Wallowa Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Sat
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 8 months ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Short-term cooling tends to improve overall stability.  With wind speeds in the teens or twenties, be aware that only a few inches of new snow can develop into windslabs, especially this evening.  Human-triggered avalanches may be possible in upper elevations where we have higher uncertainty about the location and weakness of our 12/18 rain crust.  If you see shooting cracks or feel a collapse, choose low-angle slopes to recreate on.  

Avalanche danger has been rated Low, below treeline, due to a lack of snow.  

This forecast is sponsored by M. CROW general store of Lostine, OR.  

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Southerly winds of the past few days have been strong enough to transport snow into slabs.  Given our lack of recent snow and warm temps/stickier snow, there is not much snow available for transport.  Windslabs are more likely at upper elevations.  

    Use caution where winds have deposited an additional load over the 12/18 rain crust, as this would act as a slick bed surface.  You can find that crust and its thickness with your probe, your pole handle, or your machine track.  

    (12/24/2025)

    At 8100' NE in the Elkhorns.  Visual clues like this carved texture are a heads up for windslabs.  

    Photo: Tom Whipple

Avalanche Discussion

What's this?  An unopened present beneath the tree?  The same Christmas poem as yesterday?

 

Though we wished for Polar Expresses of delightful snow,

We instead received Pineapple Expresses all in a row.  

The Atmospheric Rivers turned on their taps,

Sadly with rain to the peaks of the Eagle Caps.  

Yet as our Cascadian neighbors know,

Throughout the season, 

This water helps our overall stability grow.  

N Wallowas:   Northern Wallowas 12/20 Forecaster Caleb and his partner found 12-18" of new snow above the 12/18 rain crust/crust sandwich with an average total height of 2' at Wing Ridge.  They also found red flags such as collapsing/whoomphing and unstable results in tests (propagation).  This 12/18 crust sandwich changes with elevation, so please share where you find it and where you don't.  

S Wallowas: A Southern Wallowas 12/19 report showed 18" of wet new snow, up to 4' deep in drifts.  The 12/18 crust was 1/4-1" thick at 6800'.  Travel was and still is challenging due to low tide.   

 New resources for 2025/2026

  • Fresh blog post on 12/22: Early season mindset
  • Avy App. It can save the forecast for offline use and store field observations that upload automatically when back in service. 

Avalanche Courses:  The WAC provides avalanche education specifically for both backcountry skiers and snowmobilers.  Check out all of our courses here.  

  • Motorized Companion Rescue Jan. 16 Catherine Creek
  • Motorized Level 1 Course Jan 17-18 Catherine Creek
  • Motorized Level 2 Course Jan 24-25 Halfway
  • Motorized Level 1 Refresher Feb 7 Catherine Creek
  • Women's Only Snowmobile Clinic Feb 28-March 1 Catherine Creek

Observations: 

 Submit an observation here.  Let's paint this picture together.   An observation can be just that- a picture.  It doesn't have to use any technical wording or snow nerd acronyms.  Just explain where you went and what you saw (or if you did not see avalanches).   Submitting observations through the Avy App has made it incredibly easy to help paint the picture for forecasters and recreational users.  

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