Boletín de aludes

Galena Summit & Eastern Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Peligro de aludes

Wed
Alta montaña
2 · Moderado
Límite del bosque
2 · Moderado
Bajo el límite
1 · Débil
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Desactualizado: este boletín caducó 3 years ago. Estás viendo condiciones pasadas, no el boletín vigente.

Lo esencial

Avalanches large enough to bury a person remain a worrisome possibility. This problem is at its worst at upper elevations and on shaded middle elevation slopes (W-N-E) where weak snow near the ground exists. You may not see warning signs like cracking and collapsing before triggering an avalanche. Slides can be triggered from a distance away from the slope that avalanches and may break wider than you'd expect.

Problemas de aludes

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alta montaña
    • Límite del bosque
    • Bajo el límite del bosque
    Probabilidad
    Possible
    Tamaño
    1–2

     A strong over weak snowpack structure — the recipe for avalanches — exists in many places. Beneath a 1.5-2.5 foot thick slab, we have sugary, weak, unconsolidated facets. On sunny slopes, you'll find a mix of crusts and facets. This pairing is capable of producing large avalanches that can bury a person. You'll find this snowpack structure on all upper elevation slopes and shaded middle elevation slopes (W-N-E). Slides can be triggered from a distance away from the slope that avalanches and may break wider than you'd expect.

    We continue to get quality public observations of collapses over much of our forecast area. While cracking and collapsing are obvious signs of instability to watch out for while moving through the mountains, don't justify entering a slope due to their absence. Warning signs are helpful, but persistent slabs often don't produce any before it is much too late. You can dramatically reduce your risk of tangling with a large avalanche by avoiding slopes where this weak snow exists at the base of the snowpack. 

Avalanche Discussion

In areas where more snow is falling today, moderate winds may build isolated wind slabs in exposed mid to upper elevation terrain. These pockets will be easy to trigger due to the variety of weak surfaces they will build on top of. But don't let this new snow distract you from our headlining persistent slab avalanche problem. Read on.

Riding in avalanche terrain with a persistent slab problem is unsettlingly similar to playing a game of Russian roulette. There can be ten tracks on a slope, and the slope can still avalanche on the eleventh skier/rider. Just because several members of your party safely made it down the slope does not guarantee the same safe passage for you.

A problem like this tests our patience and understanding of ourselves. Looking down an untouched couloir filled with soft snow from a ridgeline this week, I felt myself drawn to the slope. My mind searched for reasons why skiing something I wouldn't have a few days ago was justifiable...I couldn't find any. We've been in the stagnant slump of managing this same hazard for most of our season, and it isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Framing our mindsets and having discussions about what terrain we are going to avoid before even getting our boots on can give us guardrails in these tempting situations. 

Many of us are conditioned to associate MODERATE on the danger scale with a less-than-impressive avalanche problem. Like medium salsas, not all moderate danger ratings are created equal. We've all taken a big scoop of  "medium" salsa that turned out to have a bit more spice than we bargained for. Today's moderate rating is not some bland pico de gallo. While the bottle may read "Moderate", this is not your average yellow day — it's a spicy moderate. Make sure to not bite off more than you can chew. 

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