Lawinenlagebericht

Galena Summit & Eastern Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
Auf der Karte ansehen

Lawinengefahr

Sun
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
2 · Mässig
Open full map
Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 6 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Triggering a dangerous avalanche is most likely on steep, wind-affected slopes—especially those with stiff or hard drifts of windblown snow. You can avoid most risk of triggering a slide by sticking to wind-sheltered terrain. Avalanches can be triggered remotely—from below, above, and to the sides of steeper terrain.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    The more recent weak layer in the top 2' of the snowpack is showing signs of giving up the ghost. As a result, our attention returns to our old, familiar friend—the December facets near the base of the snowpack. In the portions of this zone (primarily in the Smokys) where the snowpack depth is greater than about 4', this layer is buried beneath a 3' thick slab and is becoming difficult to trigger. On the eastern side of this zone, the snowpack is a bit thinner and the facets may be more easily affected by your weight. Throw in the effects from last week's wind event, and you have a highly variable snowpack. If I were to make some generalizations and describe two areas where you are more likely to trigger a slide, they would be:

    1. Steep (over 35 degrees), rocky, wind-affected, "prime-time" terrain. On the western side of this zone where the snowpack is deeper, this type of terrain will have more trigger points where your weight can more easily impact the deeper weak layer.
    2. On the eastern side of this zone where the snowpack is a bit thinner and weaker, avalanches are more likely where you find old, harder wind slabs from the recent wind event. This is especially true in terrain that is more alpine in nature.

    (2/4/2021) These very large slab avalanches at the head of the Eagle Creek drainage likely released early in the morning on February 3rd. The largest slab in the foreground is over 1,000' wide. A very large avalanche is also visible in the background (West Fk Trail Creek). It appears to be at least 1,000' wide.

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Light snowfall over the past 48 hours, with more in the forecast today, has been accompanied by periods of moderate westerly winds. As a result, you're likely to find fresh wind drifts and slabs along upper elevation ridgelines. I'd expect these to be relatively small, but that's not to say harmless. They could be enough to knock you off your feet or machine and take you for a ride. In wind-exposed terrain, watch for drifted or pillowed areas. These fresh wind slabs will be soft, but are likely to be slightly denser than snow on more sheltered slopes.

Avalanche Discussion

The avalanche conditions are almost always a good news/bad news situation. First the good news: we're slowly emerging from the deep, dark forest of dangerous avalanche conditions we've been lost in almost the entire winter. And now for the bad news: snowpack stability had become extremely variable across the forecast area. What this means is that you'll need to do a bit more homework to fully understand the conditions in the area you plan to ride in. Here are some tips to help you know before you go:

  • Understand what zone you're heading to. If you don't know, our new Trip Planner tool can help you locate yourself within our forecast zones.
  • Read the forecast carefully, paying attention to clues indicating where you're more likely to trigger slides.
  • Form a guess as to the average depth of the snowpack where you're headed. Where the snowpack is deeper than about 4', you're likely to find more predictable conditions. Where the snowpack is shallower, expect to find more variation as you move from slope to slope—especially in those areas exposed to the wind.
  • Hot tip: skiing and riding on wind-sheltered, mid-elevation slopes is very good right now, especially further north where more new snow has piled up. By sticking to these sheltered slopes, you can avoid most of the risk of triggering a slide.

Be sure to catch up on the happenings this past week in Ethan's latest Weekend Update.

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