Boletín de aludes

East Cabinet Mountains

Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center
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Peligro de aludes

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

Lo esencial

Storm snow and moderate winds out of the northeast have created soft slabs that will be easy to trigger in steep and open terrain. You can avoid triggering a soft slab avalanche today by avoiding steep and open terrain where the new snow has become affected by the winds. Watch for signs of cohesive and slabby snow in the surface of the snowpack. If you see shooting cracks in the snow, you will want to choose lower angle terrain sheltered by the timber.

Problemas de aludes

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Saturday's storm delivered 10 inches of fresh snow that fell light and cold with winds out of the northeasterly direction. This new snow has formed soft slabs in terrain exposed to the wind at upper elevations and may be easily triggered in terrain steeper than 35 degrees. Slopes on south and westerly aspects will be deeper and more reactive, due to the buried sun crust and northeast winds that were present during the first half of the storm. In most areas the new snow has created fantastic riding conditions, but I would avoid steep and open terrain above treeline  today. Storm slabs and wind slabs typically settle out within a couple of days, so give the new snow time to heal.

  • Loose Dry

    • Alta montaña
    • Límite del bosque
    • Bajo el límite del bosque
    Probabilidad
    Likely
    Tamaño
    1–1.5

    Very light and cold snow is present at the snowpack surface and moves easily in steep terrain. On Thursday we witnessed very small "loose-dry" avalanches releasing in terrain steeper than 40 degrees. These small avalanches are not as dangerous as a slab avalanche, but the potential to lose control in "extreme terrain" or steep chutes is there, and should be assessed before committing to ride in such locations. Saturday we recieved an additional 10 inches of light cold snow, which will add to the potential of this issue.

Avalanche Discussion

Very light and cold snow is present at the snowpack surface and moves easily in steep terrain. On Thursday we witnessed very small "loose-dry" avalanches releasing in terrain steeper than 40 degrees. These small avalanches are not as dangerous as a slab avalanche, but the potential to lose control in "extreme terrain" or steep chutes is there, and should be assessed before committing to ride in such locations. Saturday we recieved an additional 10 inches of light cold snow, which will add to the potential of this issue.

During the past week we have toured into the Southern Purcells and the East Cabinets. Snowpack conditions have been quite stable this week with the primary concern being the small and loose snow avalanches that release easily in steep terrain. During our travels we paid close attention to this issue when moving through steep terrain with cliff bands and consequential runouts below. The deeper weak layer we have been referring to as the "Lucky Friday Crust" has not shown any potential in the past 10 days and we are removing it from our list of concerning avalanche problems. This layer has been producing avalanches in the Flathead and British Columbia recently. I don't see it as a concern in our zone unless we see a major snow loading event or rapid warm-up and rain. 

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