Lawinenlagebericht

Galena Summit & Eastern Mtns

Sawtooth 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 5 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

There's a lingering chance of triggering a large slide in very steep, rocky, wind-affected terrain. Light snowfall and breezy winds formed thin drifts in exposed middle and upper elevation terrain in recent days. While small and isolated, the fresh drifts and slabs may be easy to trigger. In areas sheltered from the wind, you are unlikely to trigger avalanches.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    In this zone, the weak snow near the ground has not "healed" as much as in the mountains to the north and west.  Because we've received almost no snow in the past 3 weeks, triggering a large persistent slab avalanche is unlikely. Although you would have to win the wrong lottery to trigger a big avalanche involving the entire snowpack, it is still worth keeping in mind.

    Many local professionals and experienced backcountry travelers continue minimizing time spent in large avalanche paths in shady, middle and upper elevation terrain—where weak snow exists near the ground— that also has the following characteristics: 

    • Steep: slopes steeper than about 35 degrees.
    • Rocky: slopes with variable snow cover due to the roughness of the terrain.
    • Wind-affected: slopes where December and January's strong winds produced variable snow depths.

Avalanche Discussion

Punxsutawney Phil, possibly the world's most famous rodent, saw his shadow this morning. According to "groundhog lore", we're looking at another 6 weeks of winter—let's hope it's at least 10 weeks! While you're waiting for the next big dump, there's one other thing to keep in mind as you're traveling in this zone: wind slabs.

Yesterday near Ketchum, avalanche professionals remotely triggered a small wind slab from 100' away on a wind-loaded, NE aspect (see photo below). Monday, Ben triggered a small wind slab near a middle elevation ridgeline on Galena Peak (see photo below). Two takeaways from these minor events:

  • Weak snow underneath: The small drifts and slabs buried weak, faceted snow that formed during the January drought. Remotely triggering an avalanche as small as the one in Lake Creek is a rare occurrence and requires a sensitive weak layer.
  • Location and size: Both human-triggered slides occurred at ridgelines in exposed middle elevation terrain. The drifts were thin and did not extend far below the trigger point.  

Keep your eyes peeled for textured, wind-sculpted snow surfaces, especially near exposed ridgelines. The fresh wind slabs are not widespread, but they formed above variable snow surfaces (facets, crusts, wind-affected surfaces, possibly surface hoar) and could be sensitive to your weight on some slopes. Although small, they may be large enough to knock you off your feet. Consider the consequences of triggering a small slide if you are traveling in serious terrain. 

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