Lawinenlagebericht

Northern New Mexico

Taos Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Sun
Hochgebirge
1 · Gering
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

Generally safe avalanche conditions exist. If you were to trigger an avalanche, it would be an isolated pocket above treeline where strong NW winds drifted snow into stiffer firmer slabs that rests on top of weak facets. These avalanches would be small but still have consequences in steep, exposed rocky terrain. Coverage is still thin, and ground hazards are everywhere, making travel or riding difficult. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Although unlikely, it's not impossible to find isolated pockets of stiffer slabs that rests on top of weak faceted snow. These avalanches would be small but could have serious consequences in steep exposed terrain as they may break close to the ground in our shallow snowpack. With winds picking up early this morning, pay attention to a changing of the stiffness of surface underfoot or any obvious wind loading on the leeward sides of ridgelines or cross-loaded terrain features.   

Avalanche Discussion

Moderate to strong NW winds yesterday and today have drifted some snow at upper elevations, mainly on easterly aspects and cross-loaded terrain features. There's not a lot of snow to transport, so these wind slabs will be shallow. We've left persistent slab avalanches as the main problem to focus on, as our persistent weak layers are so weak and close to the surface that it's likely you'll get these weak layers to collapse if you were to trigger a small avalanche. Small avalanches may be isolated to just the small wind crust on the surface, but I'd still focus on weak layers a little bit deeper down in the snowpack before committing to a steep slope above treeline. 

At lower elevations and more wind-sheltered slopes, the snowpack is shallow and weak. The snow from the 1/7-1/9 storm is faceting on the surface, and snow from earlier in the season is developing into more advanced facets and depth hoar. Ski penetration on most slopes still remains close to the ground, and hitting buried hazards like downed logs and rocks continues to be the biggest problem. Overall, we have 1 to 3 foot snowpack on northerly, east, and the typical cross-loaded west-facing terrain. 

With at least another week of high pressure expect the faceting process to continue in our shallow snowpack.  This widespread weak layer isn't much of a concern right now as we don't have a reactive slab on top. Once we do get more significant snow, this weak snow will become a concern.        (1/15/2026) Photo: Charlie Harrison 

Until we see a significant storm, we will remain in the status quo of low avalanche danger. There's at least some hope in long-range models as this stubborn ridge breaks down later in the week, with maybe some snow in the last week of January. When we do see some significant snow, expect our weak and shallow snowpack to struggle as we have widespread persistent weak layers.   

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