Boletín de aludes

West Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Peligro de aludes

Mon
Alta montaña
4 · Fuerte
Límite del bosque
4 · Fuerte
Bajo el límite
4 · Fuerte
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Desactualizado: este boletín caducó last year. Estás viendo condiciones pasadas, no el boletín vigente.

Lo esencial

High danger will develop over the course of the day, with heavy snowfall switching over to rain. Avoid travel on or below steep slopes as the snow piles up and then becomes saturated. Very large avalanches could run to valley bottom starting in the afternoon and lasting into Monday morning.

Problemas de aludes

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alta montaña
    • Límite del bosque
    • Bajo el límite del bosque
    Probabilidad
    Very Likely
    Tamaño
    2–3

    Rain on dry snow is never really a good thing, but it’s going to happen whether you like it or not. Locations around West North have seen base depths increase by 30” to 60”  since the last rain event about two weeks ago. Numerous weak layers also produced numerous avalanches in that same time period.

    It won’t take much for liquid water to make the upper snowpack fall apart and produce all varieties of wet avalanches and cornice fall. Wet avalanche problems will work their way higher in elevation as snow levels rise throughout the day.

    Travel advice for Sunday is simple: Avoid exposure to anything resembling avalanche terrain as dense snow accumulates and snowfall switches to rain. If planning low-elevation hikes or similar activities, realize it will be one of the rare days that avalanches can run long distances from higher-elevation terrain. Know what is above you at all times. Be especially aware of gullies that connect to big slopes at higher elevations.

    (1/29/2024)

    Wet slab avalanches can be nasty, run long distances, and generally unsurvivable.

    Photo: Dallas Glass

  • Storm Slabs

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

    You can definitely trigger slab avalanches in dry snow before the mountains descend into chaos and snow turns to rain. Numerous natural and human-triggered slab avalanches were reported from the Baker BC. Also, a decent helping of dense, upside-down new snow means you can trigger slabs in the topmost, freshest layer that falls overnight into the morning.

    If you are inclined to find the last of the pow, use the usual tools to assess stability and plan on sticking with simple terrain. Have a fast and easy exit with minimal exposure to avalanche terrain to get back to the trailhead or snowpark.

    (3/22/2025)

    A large avalanche (suspect human-triggered) low on Table Mountain above Upper Bagely Lake. East-southeast aspect at 4800'.

    (SS-AS/R-D2-O)

    Photo: Zack McGill - Cascade Mountain Ascents

Avalanche Discussion

The general consensus around the Baker Backcountry was that conditions were spicy, with a number of human-triggered - and a few natural - avalanches to D2 reported. Many occurred on southern aspects, but one natural and some human-triggered ran on more northerly aspects. They likely failed either at the new-old interface or where all the new snow in the last week was poorly bonded to a buried crust down 24-36".  The majority occurred in midday or later and corresponded with a rise in temperature (36F at 4200' at 1 pm).  Many steep slopes were ridden with no results, but there was definitely more slab avalanche activity than anticipated. 

Natural and human-triggered wet loose avalanches were reported as well. Observations from other parts of West North were limited. Less avalanche activity was observed in other areas, but informal tests still showed easy shears at the new-old snow interface. Whatever snowpack issues are out there, they probably won't stick around for long with 3-6" of precipitation in the forecast into Monday morning.

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