Avalanche forecast

Central Sierra Nevada

Sierra Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 11 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

The avalanche danger remains LOW on all aspects and elevations. While avalanches remain unlikely, some unstable snow could linger on isolated terrain features. Small isolated avalanches can still have consequences depending on the terrain where they occur. Continue to use normal caution when traveling in the backcountry.

Avalanche problems

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1

    Avalanche problems should remain isolated, small, and unlikely again today. Some minor wind slabs may form or linger on some of the upper elevation slopes near ridgelines due to the shifting winds. These wind slabs should remain shallow and not extend very far away from the ridgelines due to a lack of snow available for transport. Some minor sluffing could also still occur on some steep slopes where the snow remains soft and unconsolidated. A wide variety of snow surface conditions exist ranging from soft unconsolidated snow on sheltered near and below treeline NW-N-NE aspects to icy crusts and firm wind scoured surfaces on more exposed near and above treeline slopes to thin sun crusts on sunny SE-S-SW aspects. On the slopes where the exposed icy crusts exist, travel may be difficult and arresting a fall could prove challenging.  

    Even though avalanches remain unlikely, continue to practice normal caution and safe travel techniques when traveling in the backcountry. Those techniques include avoiding areas of unstable snow, only exposing one person at a time to avalanche terrain, regrouping in safe spots out of the avalanche path, avoiding terrain traps, and communicating clearly with your partners.

Avalanche Discussion

Observations since New Year's Eve on Squaw Ridge south of Carson Pass, on Echo Peak near Echo Summit, and on Basin Peak north of Donner Summit have shown wind scoured icy crusts on exposed near and above treeline slopes along the Sierra Crest. East of Lake Tahoe near Ginny Lake in the Mt. Rose backcountry, the exposed near and above treeline slopes hold firm wind scoured snow surfaces without the icy crusts. In all of these areas soft cold snow still exists on the sheltered NW-N-NE aspects and some sheltered slopes facing E and W also held soft snow. Surface hoar has also formed on some of the open northerly facing slopes. Thin sun crusts existed on the SE-S-SW aspects.

Snowpit tests, handpits, probing, ski and snowmobile cuts on test slopes, and other observations have not revealed any signs of instability except for a few very small wind slabs less than 4 inches in depth on some wind loaded NW-W-SW aspects near ridgelines and some minor sluffing on steep sheltered north facing slopes. One party reported triggering one of these small wind slabs on Herlan Peak along the east shore of Lake Tahoe on New Year's Eve. This slab was only 1-4 inches deep and certainly did not involve enough snow to bury a person, but it still carried the skier who triggered it about 50 ft. before he was able to get out of it.

Regions covered