Lawinenlagebericht

Elkhorns

Wallowa Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 5 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

The NE Oregon mountains have received little in the way of snow since March 8th. This benign weather pattern we have been in has allowed our snowpack to strengthen. Generally safe avalanche conditions exist for today and tomorrow. Avalanche danger is heightened on east facing slopes steeper than 35 degrees especially near ridgelines.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    In my travels in the Northern Elkhorns yesterday I observed 3" of new snow that fell early Friday morning above 7800'. Add to that the 1"-3" of snow forecasted for today accompanied by light to moderate west/wnw winds. If weather comes together as forecasted expect to see windslab formation at treeline and ridgelines on leeward east facing terrain. These potential windslabs could be poorly bonded to the crusty snow surfaces they are sitting upon. Evaluate snow and terrain carefully before venturing onto steep leeward terrain greater than 35 degrees.

  • Cornices

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

    When traveling along ridgelines stay well back away from the edge unless you are certain you are not traveling on a cornice. Cornices break further back from the slope edge than you might expect. As you approach a slope you might want to check out from above make absolutely sure you are not walking out onto a cornice to get that view down onto the slope you are contemplating.

Avalanche Discussion

My recent tours in the Southern Wallowas (Wednesday) and Northern Wallowas (Friday) revealed generally safe avalanche conditions. I dug a snowpit yesterday on a NW facing slope at 7800' . The snow height at this location was 165 cm or about 4.5' . The column tests I performed at this location pointed to good snowpack strength/stability. The slope ski cutting tests I performed pointed to goodstrength/ stability as well. Because the snowpack is relatively shallow at this location it was easy for me to dig to the ground. In doing so I discovered that the bottom 10" or so of the snowpack at this area still consists of weak, uncohesive faceted grains. Something to keep in mind going forward if we get an extraordinary snow event or an extraordinary warming/rain event.

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