Lawinenlagebericht

Northern Wallowas

Wallowa Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Fri
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
3 · Erheblich
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 8 months ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

New snow and winds have created dangerous avalanche conditions. Choose conservative terrain and watch for signs of instability such as recent avalanches, cracking, collapsing or wind loading. 

This forecast is sponsored by the Wallowa County Gamblers Snowmobile Club. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Likely
    Größe
    1–2

    The recent storm appears to have brought a small avalanche cycle to the Wallowas, with several observations reporting natural and human triggered activity. These avalanches have been a mix of storm and wind slabs, however, the primary concern today will be wind slabs. Estimates range from 25-35cms (about a foot) of new snow available for transport as we enter a period of moderate west winds with strong gusts. This new snow may have poorly bonded with the old snow surface, and will likely be reactive to human triggering. Watch for cracking or collapsing in the snow under your skis or machine and monitor the snow stiffness where you travel. A sudden change in snow stiffness could indicate the presence of a wind slab. Cornices, pillows, and textured snow also indicate wind effect. Given recent snow totals wind slabs could easily be 2-3' thick and may appear on unexpected aspects due to terrain driven winds and storm loading patterns.

    A public observation submitted 1/7/26 shows a human triggered wind slab in the Northern Wallowas. 

Avalanche Discussion

While the avalanche danger may be moderate uncertainty is high and warrants its own conversation. Forecasters have been monitoring several buried crusts in the snowpack and small facets have been observed around these crusts. We do not have the evidence or likelihood to warrant forecasting a persistent slab problem, however, we do have concerning snowpack structure and a very large amount of uncertainty due to freezing levels and spatial variability. Now is not the time for aggressive terrain choices, even if the surface instabilities appear manageable. If you're interested in digging, please send us an observation! Notable information includes the depth of any crusts, and the hardness of the snow above and below these crusts, as well as amounts of snow you encounter at various elevations.

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