Summit Lake

Avalanche problems

• 

  Persistent Slabs

  N

  NE

  E

  SE

  S

  SW

  W

  NW

  • Alpine
  • Treeline
  • Below treeline

  Likelihood

  Likely

  Size

  1–2.5

  The rain, wind, and new snow over the past few days is overloading buried weak layers and causing large natural avalanches throughout the Summit Lake forecast area (see ob for more details). Natural and human triggered avalanches up to 2' deep are the main concern today as stormy weather continues. The majority of the natural avalanches observed yesterday appear to have released in wind loaded start zones at upper elevations and entrained wet snow in the runout zone. These avalanches are large enough to bury a person and we recommend avoiding runout zones from avalanche paths that are being actively loaded by additional rain, snow, and wind today. 

  Wet Loose: The wet snow on the surface will also make wet loose avalanches easy to trigger today. These avalanches are especially dangerous near terrain traps like gullies and cliffs. 

   

   

  

• 

  Glide Cracks

  N

  NE

  E

  SE

  S

  SW

  W

  NW

  • Alpine
  • Treeline
  • Below treeline

  Likelihood

  Possible

  Size

  2–3

  From the limited observations over the past few days, we have seen an uptick in glide avalanche releases. These large and destructive avalanches release spontaneously and it is not uncommon for glide avalanches to occur even if there is no preexisting crack on the snow surface. The combination of warm temperatures and liquid water in the snowpack makes gilde avalanches more likely to release. We recommend extra caution today by giving areas with glide cracks a wide berth, especially in the runout zones below existing glide cracks.