West Slopes North

Problemas de aludes

• 

  Storm Slabs

  N

  NE

  E

  SE

  S

  SW

  W

  NW

  • Alta montaña
  • Límite del bosque
  • Bajo el límite del bosque

  Probabilidad

  Likely

  Tamaño

  1–2

  You could trigger and get caught in a variety of storm snow avalanche problems during your outing on Tuesday.  We're not quite certain how this storm is going to play out, but we expect at least a foot of low density powder by the end of the day. Sunday we received about one foot, in some areas more, of low density snow, and on Monday we heard about wind loaded pockets and plenty of dry loose avalanches running with or without a human trigger.  Most of the avalanches were small. Some steeps just had low density powder, or "goose feathers" as one person called it, and the snowpack was relatively right side up with minimal slab development in some areas.

  Expect conditions to remain similar on Tuesday, but avalanches could grow in size and become more reactive as snow amounts increase. Wind slabs could develop more than they did on Monday, especially at higher elevations. Avalanches could fail within the new snow layer, they could fail on Monday's interface, or they could fail beneath Sunday's snow. This means an avalanche could easily be two feet or more in depth. There's a lot of uncertainty here, so be sure to stay on the conservative side during your travels. If you encounter any slablike qualities in the snow, steer around steep slopes. Slabs could be so soft that they may not be discernable from other snow in the vicinity. Don't ignore obvious clues like recent avalanches, whumphs, or long, shooting cracks.  If you have any doubts, steer clear of slopes steeper than 35 degrees.

  If you do get out on steep terrain, expect to trigger a dry loose avalanche at a minimum, so be prepared to manage sluffs on a slope and not get caught in one, as getting caught even in a small sluff could take you for a dangerous ride.