Lawinenlagebericht

Sawtooth & Western Smoky Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Thu
Hochgebirge
1 · Gering
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

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

  • Wind Slabs

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

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

    (2/1/2022) Local avalanche professionals remotely triggered this small wind slab from about 100' away. The drifted snow buried a layer of weak, faceted snow that formed during the recent dry spell. NE aspect near 6500' in the Lake Ck drainage (Chris Marshall photo).

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 are a couple of other things to keep in mind as you're traveling in this zone: 

Deep Persistent Slabs: Weak, faceted snow exists near the base of the snowpack on most shady, middle and upper elevation slopes. Triggering an avalanche on this layer is unlikely but not impossible. You're most likely to find trouble on slopes with 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 strong winds produced variable snow cover.

Cornices: The recent snowfall is making it more difficult to tell if you are traveling along a snow-covered ridgeline or out on an overhanging cornice. Cornices are unpredictable, and the safe play is to avoid riding or skiing on them. Also, falling cornices are potential triggers for the Deep Persistent Slabs described above.

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