Lawinenlagebericht

Southeast Mountains

Crested Butte Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

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

Kernpunkte

4 to 12 inches of new snow recently accumulated in the SE Mountain forecast areas. That new snow was accompanied by strong westerly winds on Friday, building reactive wind slabs on the lee sides of terrain features. Avalanches could further release on deeper persistent weak layers and become dangerously large in size. Consider avoiding previously wind-loaded terrain today, where the most dangerous avalanche conditions exist. You can also avoid persistent slab avalanche concerns by riding on southerly facing slopes and enjoy the fresh snow before it gets cooked by the sun.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Likely
    Größe
    1–2

    4 to 12" of new snow and strong southwest to northwest winds have formed sensitive drifts on leeward terrain features at higher elevations. Evaluate slab size and terrain consequences before crossing any wind-loaded slopes.  Wind slabs are most common below ridges, abrupt rollovers, or in crossloaded gullies.  Look for blowing snow, thicker-feeling slabs, or shooting cracks to identify unstable snow.  You can avoid the problem in wind-protected or wind-eroded terrain.  

    An example of a wind slab that was skier triggered on the lee side of a terrain feature in Red Lady Glades. 4/4/2025

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    2–3

    There is potential to trigger a dangerous slab avalanche on facets or depth hoar layers in the middle or bottom of the snowpack.  Persistent or deep persistent slab avalanches are most likely to be triggered on the northern half of the compass and where the snowpack is unusually thin and weak.  In rare cases, they might also be triggered on deeper slopes from step-down avalanches in the upper snowpack or cornice falls. Be cautious of very steep, rocky, or wind-affected terrain with variable snow depths and slopes receiving heavy windloading today.   Southerly slopes generally lack the problem due to previous meltwater strengthening the snowpack.  You can avoid the problem on slope angles consistently less than 30 degrees.   

    Avalanches could easily run into lower angled slopes below steeper slopes like this large avalanche that ran in the last couple of weeks.

Avalanche Discussion

Avalanche conditions are notably different between the NW Mountain and SE Mountain forecast areas. Dangerous avalanche conditions are more widespread in the NW Mountains, while they are more specifically located in the SE Mountains. This is due to the dramatic difference in the recent snow accumulations between the two areas. 1.5 to 2" of SWE has accumulated in the NW Mountains, while the SE Mountains received an average of .5 SWE or less with a few outliers. That new snow was further accompanied by strong westerly winds.

Give the weekly summary a read for more details on the current snowpack and avalanche conditions heading into the weekend. You can view the video summary here, or the text summary here. 

Looking ahead, we have two notable weather factors that will continue to influence avalanche conditions. Wind speeds start picking back up later this afternoon and remain elevated into Sunday. Those winds will continue to load the lee sides of terrain features and hold the potential for continued natural avalanche activity. The other weather factor influencing avalanche activity will be when the March sun makes an appearance and puts wet avalanche activity back on the menu. High temperatures remain cool on Sunday, but with a clearing sky, we can expect another round of wet avalanche activity to begin. 

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