Boletín de aludes

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Peligro de aludes

Mon
Alta montaña
3 · Notable
Límite del bosque
3 · Notable
Bajo el límite
3 · Notable
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Desactualizado: este boletín caducó 5 years ago. Estás viendo condiciones pasadas, no el boletín vigente.

Lo esencial

It is likely that you can trigger avalanches in the foot and a half or so of snow that falls Saturday night. A large load will take at least 24 hours to stabilize, and avoiding travel on steep slopes is the best plan for Sunday. Areas where it will be easiest to trigger avalanches are along ridgelines and other locations where wind deposits the snow into thicker, and more reactive drifts.

Problemas de aludes

  • Storm Slabs

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

    Small natural avalanches are probable overnight as snowfall rates may reach 2-3 inches an hour. During the day, human-triggered avalanches are likely. Most avalanches will fail within the new snow that fell in the last 24 hours. Concerns also lie in weaknesses we’ve found within the top foot of the old snow layer, where this new load on top could result in avalanches stepping down to that layer, creating a larger avalanche than one which just encompasses the new snow. Avalanches resulting on the deeper layer could span further as well. This deeper concern is probably limited to mid and upper elevation slopes on the northerly half of the compass. 

    The storm is accompanied by wind, so depending on your location, you may encounter large drifts of thicker snow. Expect the wind-affected areas to be more reactive to a human trigger.  You'll find these along ridgelines, on leeward slopes, and around rocky outcroppings. Throughout your travels continue to pay attention to variations in snow surface conditions- is the surface light and fluffy, or does it feel firmer as you slightly shifted your terrain? Pay attention to obvious clues such as cracking. If you’re ski/split touring, this is a great day for doing skin-track tests (see media). Although you’re constantly assessing the snowpack as you travel, unless you have thorough experience with snowpack checks and tests, stay off slopes steeper than 35 degrees on Sunday.

Avalanche Discussion

Sunday is a good day to keep bullseye clues, or red flags, in the forefront of your mind. They are the best indicators of when to avoid some or all avalanche terrain. One red flag which is already in the cards for tomorrow is significant recent heavy snowfall. Wind is also a factor. Look out for recent signs of avalanches and unstable snow. Any one of these indicators means there’s probably an increased chance that you’ll encounter avalanches. If you’re traveling to steeper areas, make sure you’ve done your research by using small test slopes, investigated layer bonding, and determined wind slab potential for starters, before heading out onto a steep slope. 

The return to winter means big changes from the last few weeks. Change your mindset as a result of this, as the avalanche problem, likelihood, and size shifted dramatically overnight. Additional concerns with new snow over the melted-out older layers could mean you’ll find shallowly buried hazards such as trees and creeks. Especially on south-facing slopes you might collide with hard old debris piles cheekily buried under lower density new snow.

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