Lawinenlagebericht

Presidential Range

Mount Washington Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Thu
Hochgebirge
1 · Gering
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

Firm snow surfaces make it unlikely to trigger a large avalanche today. Isolated pockets of recent wind drifted snow may exist in the steep, east-facing, terrain of the middle elevations, but avalanches should remain small. Stay on dense wind-firmed surfaces to avoid today’s avalanche problem.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Isolated pockets of wind transported snow reside on eastern aspects of the middle and upper elevations. These slabs are less than 2 feet in thickness and will be stubborn or unreactive to human triggering. The variability of existing snow changes as you move through the terrain from firm and supportable to areas where you have softer snow and good boot penetration. Drifted slabs allow some boot penetration with a hardness of 1Finger or less, and may feel hollow due to softer and less consolidated snow beneath. Pay particular attention to wind drifted snow below ridgelines and in steep confining terrain as some of these pockets may be structurally unstable.

    The 1.4 inches of new snow overnight was thrashed by winds exceeding 94 mph and may only produce thin slabs lower in the runout zones of larger ski terrain. If some of these pockets developed, expect them to shed quite easily and be of minor threat to travelers. As always, reassess your surroundings and make sound judgments when entering avalanche terrain.

Avalanche Discussion

Mostly stable snow conditions exist, except for the isolated slabs of wind drifted snow on eastern aspects at middle elevations. Overnight 1.4 inches of new snow fell with ravaging winds in excess of 94 mph. These high winds likely whipped up the new snow and scattered it into thin pockets that could be found lower in the middle elevations. The potential for wind slab avalanches remains unlikely and small in size if they do occur.

Older wind drifted slabs have grown more stable and unreactive to human triggering as of lately. We’ve received 3.7 inches of snow so far this month with each day winds gusting to extreme, and one day where average winds were 87 mph for the entire day. Sustained winds of this caliber usually erode the snow surface and expose older and more firm bed surfaces.

Overall the snowpack is growing and more terrain is filling in. As starting zones become more developed expect avalanche size to increase with future storms. In some locations observers are finding weak snow surrounding old crusts formed during mixed precipitation events. These faceted snow grains are a result of the cold clear night last week when subsurface snow metamorphism degraded the once resilient melt/freeze crusts. Yes, these weak layers are interesting in snow stability tests and can yield concerning results, but their effects aren’t being seen in the form of recent avalanches. If future snow loads are ample we could see a reemergence of this weak layer but for now it is being bridged by firm wind-board layers.  

The Lion Head Summer Trail is CLOSED due to increased avalanche hazard. The Lion Head Winter Route is OPEN and the most direct route to the Mount Washington Summit from Pinkham Notch. 

OBSERVATIONS: Please consider submitting an observation of what you are seeing in your travels. Submitting an observation hones your skills, informs other users, and improves our forecasts. 

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