Thank you for a great season. We’ll see you next fall! Remember to practice good habits and follow proper protocol when heading into the backcountry.
During the spring, there are typically three different avalanche problems:
Wind can rapidly load snow onto steep slopes, making them more prone to avalanches. Avoid slopes greater than 30° in steepness if you see signs of wind-drifted snow, such as rounded and pillowy features, and shooting cracks. In some cases, wind drifts can sound hollow like a drum.
When cold, dry snow becomes wet for the first time, it almost always means wet sluffs (loose snow that fans outward as it descends).
Larger wet slab avalanches can happen when melt water percolates through a layered, winter snowpack for the first time especially after multiple days of warm temperatures combined with no refreeze at night.
Glide avalanches occur regularly in spring as the entire snowpack slides slowly on the ground like a glacier until they suddenly release into a full-depth avalanche. These occur periodically on steep rock slabs and occasionally on steep grassy slopes. Notorious glide avalanche locations include Stairs Gulch or the rock slabs in Broads Fork. Avoid crossing under any slopes with cracks to the ground in the snowpack. Remember, they come down randomly, even at night.
Warning signs may include:
These signs mean it's time to head home or change to an aspect with cooler snow. Remember, even "smaller" slides can be dangerous in high-consequence terrain, such as above a terrain trap, trees, rocks, cliffs, or a long, large avalanche path.
We almost always get winter-like snow storms well in the spring. Treat each storm just like you would in winter. Avalanches can occur within the new snow typically from 1) low-density layers deposited during the storm, 2) high precipitation intensity during a storm, and 3) from wind slabs created during the storm.
It's easy to test the new snow as you travel by jumping on small test slopes to see if they avalanche or dig down with your hand to see how well the new snow is bonding. Snow can change dramatically in both space and time, so never let your guard down. Avoid any steep slope with recent wind deposits. Practice good backcountry protocol:
View observations HERE.
Click HERE to access our weather page for up-to-date weather station data to help plan your tour based on new snow, temperature, wind speed, and direction.
Our partners at the National Weather Service put out a weather discussion HERE.
This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions, and local variations always occur.
