Boletín de aludes

West Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Peligro de aludes

Sat
Alta montaña
2 · Moderado
Límite del bosque
1 · Débil
Bajo el límite
1 · Débil
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Desactualizado: este boletín caducó 4 years ago. Estás viendo condiciones pasadas, no el boletín vigente.

Lo esencial

The snowpack should be well-suited to handle a few inches of new snow on Friday. If you’re going to find an avalanche, it will likely be on a wind-loaded feature at upper elevations. Look for textured surfaces or smooth pillow-like drifts to help you pinpoint the pockets you should avoid.

Problemas de aludes

  • Wind Slabs

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

    You may see shallow Wind Slabs start to develop as snow showers and breezy conditions return to the zone on Friday. Look for actively blowing snow or new drifts to help distinguish aspects that may be getting wind-loaded. Once you have the direction figured out, you can start to locate specific features such as convex slopes or confined gullies that could be harboring Wind Slabs. Textured surfaces or snow that feels stiffer than the surrounding area and looks more “pillow-like” are visual clues you can use to help determine that a feature is indeed wind-loaded. Once you go through the steps and identify a potential Wind Slab, you’ll be able to easily avoid it. 

    (2/14/2023)

    A large slab avalanche triggered by a snowmobiler on 2/14. Note the convex nature of the slope and the rocks that were exposed.

    Photo: Shane Campbell

Avalanche Discussion

The West South could pick up a couple of inches of snow on Friday as a quick front moves through the region. Snow totals aren’t impressive for most of the zone but a little refresh and some wind should be enough to have you thinking about small avalanches as you ascend in elevation.

Any new snow will be falling on a variety of surfaces around the zone. On slopes that see direct sunshine, a sun crust exists due to recent sunny weather and could become a good sliding surface. On shadier slopes, cold dry snow is present. In some locations, it is capped by weak surface hoar. We suspect most of these weak grains got knocked down by the relatively warm weather on Thursday and that the wind will take care of the rest. That said, don’t rule out a few touchy avalanches on Friday if it persists and gets buried. 

No new avalanches were reported on Thursday. Earlier this week, human-triggered avalanches were reported near White Pass and on Mount St. Helens after Monday’s storm had wrapped up. We also received reports of widespread loose avalanche activity due to warm and sunny weather in recent days. We suspect any avalanche on Friday will occur within the snow that fell this week above the 2/13 interface. You’ll likely find this layer somewhere from 3-6” below the surface near the crest and closer to a foot down on the volcanoes. The majority should be in Friday's newly fallen snow but we won’t rule out something a little deeper down to this layer. 

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