Lawinenlagebericht

West Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

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

Kernpunkte

Easterly winds could transport snow into shallow slabs on leeward slopes. On some aspects, they might develop over a crust, creating a good sliding surface. Don't get tripped up by a small avalanche in consequential terrain.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    On Thursday, there may be just enough wind to increase avalanche potential throughout the zone.  An easterly wind direction means that slabs could exist on aspects where you're not used to seeing them. Look for actively blowing snow and new drifts to help identify wind-loaded features to avoid, especially near ridgelines or rocky terrain such as confined gullies or the base of cliffs. 

    (12/11/2024)

    Textured drifts on Mt. Adams. Drifts like this are a good indicator of recent wind loading. 

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

Avalanche Discussion

We're headed toward a pattern change in the West South. Over the next few days, a series of storm pulses will attempt to break down our high-pressure ridge and bring precipitation back to the zone. We're not looking at a lot of new snow on Thursday, but the winds should start to increase with an easterly component. Our zone is prone to east wind events from the crest to the volcanoes, so a bump in avalanche potential is warranted. 

The upper snowpack around the zone has become aspect-dependent after a few days of sunny weather. Slopes that often see direct sunshine have a surface crust, while shaded aspects still hold cold settled storm snow. Naturally, snow depth increases greatly as you ascend in elevation. NWAC forecasters were on Mt. Adams on Wednesday and found a similar snowpack structure to what has been reported at Paradise, Crystal Mountain, and White Pass. In short, last weekend's storm snow has settled nicely, but a subtle interface just above the 12/7 crust continues to show up during snowpack tests. 

Few avalanches were reported this week, save a couple wind slabs in the White Pass backcountry on Monday morning. Weak surfaces exist in many locations, but we'll see how they fare in the next few days. If they get buried intact, we'll start talking about them more. We do not have any concerns below the 12/7 interface at this time.

Until we get a few more good storms, you'll need to manage early-season hazards such as shallowly buried or exposed rocks, creeks, holes, and logs.

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