Lawinenlagebericht

West Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

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

Saturday’s avalanche danger will depend on the battle between the overnight frozen snow and the warmth of the sun to weaken the surface. When you find wet, sticky, or punchy snow look for lower angled or more frozen slopes to limit the chance of triggering an avalanche.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Loose Wet

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

    Given the warm temperatures and sunshine expected Saturday, it’s easy to think loose wet avalanches will be possible. However, how dangerous it becomes depends on the strength of the overnight freeze. Use your foot to check the snow surface as you travel. When your boot sinks into the snow past the ankle or you find it’s becoming wet and sticky, start anticipating loose wet avalanches. You're most likely to find wet snow first on SE-SW aspects and at mid-elevations where temperatures could remain warmer overnight. New rollerballs and small point release slides can also serve as simple clues that the snow surface is becoming unstable.  Seek out lower angled or more frozen slopes to help reduce the chances of triggering an avalanche. While these slides should remain small, in larger or more high consequence terrain they could still hurt you by caring you over a cliff or through rocks. 

    Even though we think loose wet slides will be your primary hazard, cornices, glide avalanches, and large blobs of snow clinging to rocks could all fall down in this period of prolonged warm weather. Keep an eye on slopes above your head to locate these potential hazards. Then, choose routes that limit the amount of time you need to spend below them

    (1/14/2022)

    Roller balls and very small loose wet avalanches on a steep sunny slope. Notice many of these tiny slides start near rocks. 

    Photo: Andy Harrington

Avalanche Discussion

Several avalanche professionals Friday throughout the West South zone reported a fairly solid freeze of the snow surface. This firm and sometimes icy snow did not break down in most areas due to increasing clouds and a cooling breeze. The exception was at Paradise where periods of sunshine and 40+F temperatures softened the snow surface and produced rollerballs mid-day. However, increasing clouds in the afternoon immediately brought back firm conditions. No new avalanches were reported. The upper snowpack generally consists of alternating layers of weak wet snow, stout crusts, and strong rounded grains above a well settled and dry mid-pack. While individual tests may find layers that fail, it is unlikely these interfaces are widespread and consistent across the landscape. 

This period of prolonged warm weather continues to maintain the avalanche danger and gives us a significant source of uncertainty. Many weather stations in the West South haven’t substantially dipped below freezing since late Monday afternoon (4+ days ago). Often warm periods like this increase the avalanche danger. However, we just endured 2 massive and widespread avalanche cycles (Jan 6-7 and 11-12) that affected the entire zone. This provides us some confidence that the snowpack has been tested, but doesn't fully eliminate the uncertainty. Keep this on your mind and as part of your discussions if you plan to head into large and higher consequence alpine terrain.

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