Loose Wet
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Likely
- Size
- 1
Strong April sunshine and daytime warming will quickly melt through last night's weak refreeze. Enough wet snow will form for loose wet avalanches to occur on steep slopes. This loose wet problem will form first on sunny E-SE-S-SW-W aspects but wet snow may also form on the northerly aspects this afternoon. These loose wet avalanches would entrain enough snow to carry a person downslope. They may involve enough wet snow to bury a person especially on larger slopes or in areas where the loose wet avalanche flows into a terrain trap like a gully. Today's rapid warming will also weaken existing cornices and make it easier for them to fail.
Getting out early while the snowpack remains supportable and returning before it gets too wet represents one way to manage wet snow instabilities. Avoiding steep slopes and using lower angle terrain is another. Regardless, once the snow starts to get wet and sticky or small roller balls and pinwheels start to occur it is time to move to a different place without wet snow or call it a day.
