Lawinenlagebericht

Olympics

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Mon
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

A surface crust will help limit the avalanche danger in the morning. Once this layer breaks down, you could trigger avalanches in the wet sticky snow. Most of these slides should be small but don’t let them catch you off guard in high-consequence terrain.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Loose Wet

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

    Travel earlier in the day to reduce the danger of wet loose avalanches. As the snow softens, the danger will increase. You can monitor the wet snow by using your boot. When you sink into wet manky snow deeper than your ankle, you could trigger a wet loose slide. Seek out more frozen snow on shadier aspects or head for lower-angle terrain. You could also see natural wet loose avalanches. These will be most common near rocks and trees where shedding snow can trigger a slide on the slope below. 

    Most of these wet loose slides should be small and relativity easy to manage. Just don’t let them push you into a creek or over a cliff. If you see avalanches gouging deeper, running longer, and growing larger, then the scales have tipped and you’re dealing with a much more dangerous beast. Steer clear of similar terrain. 

    During this warm-up, snow may shed from steep rocky faces, and cornices could collapse. These “shed-style” avalanches are hard to predict and can occur just about anytime of day. Pay attention to what’s above you. Look for routes that help reduce or eliminate any time you spend on or underneath these hazards.

    (3/30/2024)

    Wet loose point releases entraining snow but only reaching D1 on a steep, north facing slope.

    Photo: Kaitlin Harrigan

Avalanche Discussion

Preliminary Report: NWAC is saddened to report an avalanche fatality as a result of a cornice fall on Mount St Helens. On Saturday, March 30, 2024, a snowboarder summited the peak. While standing near the top, he triggered a cornice and fell to his death. Our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and community.

Discussion: 

Sunday looks like another beautiful day in the mountains. There should be plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures. It could be a bit breezy. These cool northerly winds may keep the snow a bit firmer for longer. On top of the highest peaks, there may still be a few pockets of cold dry snow on shaded aspects. You could see a bit of blowing snow or drifting, but it shouldn’t produce much in the way of a significant wind slab hazard. 

During this warm-up we’re mainly worried about the recent snow from last week over the 3/21 crust. Near Hurricane Ridge, this is typically about 6 inches below the surface. In the southern and western portions of the zone it may be much deeper (12-18 inches). 

On Saturday an NWAC observer reported surprisingly soft snow on northerly aspects to start the day. This provided fu, smooth travel over the underlying crust. However, the warm temperatures eventually caused that dry snow to become wet and sticky. On sunnier slopes, they were able to trigger rollerballs and small loose wet slides. The only natural avalanche they observed was a small cornice fall above the Bowling Alley. The chunks of cornice entrained some of the wet snow on the slopes below. This wet surface snow should generally freeze overnight and produce a crust on all aspects by Sunday morning.

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