Lawinenlagebericht

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
Auf der Karte ansehen

Lawinengefahr

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

Kernpunkte

Another unseasonably warm day will maintain dangerous and unpredictable avalanche conditions. Recent large to very large natural avalanches should help keep your terrain selection well away from steep slopes and sagging cornices. Let the warm-up run its course and stick to simple terrain with minimal overhead avalanche concerns.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wet Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Likely
    Größe
    1.5–2.5

    This wet avalanche problem is not trending downwards much until we see significant cooling and a solid refreeze. In the past two days, observers have reported numerous large wet slab avalanches across the region. Some of these slab avalanches broke widely across terrain features and ran well into valley bottoms. Another mild night and warm day will only keep the meltwater pumping through the snowpack, which will continue to destabilize weak interfaces and maintain the threat of wet avalanches. 

    Don’t be fooled by the nice weather and think the spring riding or climbing will be primo, because it's far from it right now. The reality is the snowpack is wet, punchy, and quite unpredictable at the moment.  Wet slabs won’t give you much warning before they release and loose wet avalanches could grow surprisingly large in steep terrain. Until we see a solid refreeze, keep your terrain selection simple. Avoid steep slopes and limit your time spent under large terrain features.

    Cornices are a significant hazard right now and could be great triggers for larger avalanches. Give these overhanging chunks of snow a wide buffer.

    (3/25/2025)

    This very large wet slab released nearly the entire bowl and ran around 1000 vertical feet near White Pass.

    N, 6600ft, WS-N-D2.5-R3-0There's also a smaller wet slab on the ridgeline. D2

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

If you went out Tuesday, you probably found challenging riding, deep boot penetrations, and maybe some avalanches. Unfortunately, Wednesday will likely be a rinse and  repeat with another warm day and a chance of thunderstorms during the afternoon hours. Some of these storms could bring downpours, hail, and lightning - so plan accordingly. 

With the recent hot temperatures and the handful of wet slab occurrences in the last 24-48 hours in the East Central and West South zones, I'm not yet ready to trust this snowpack in steep terrain. Sure, wet loose avalanches may be more predictable and manageable, but it's the possibility of wet slab avalanches that keeps us on our toes as forecasters. These wet slabs are notoriously difficult to forecast and manage and will sometimes release when you least expect them to. Really, the best way to deal with the uncertainty of wet snow is to step it back until we see a solid refreeze. 

You can add to the forecast! Submit an observation here.

Abgedeckte Regionen