Bulletin d’avalanche

Galena Summit & Eastern Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Danger d’avalanche

Tue
Alpin
3 · Marqué
Limite forestière
3 · Marqué
Sous la limite
3 · Marqué
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Périmé — ce bulletin a expiré 6 years ago. Vous consultez des conditions passées, pas le bulletin en cours.

Points saillants

Dangerous avalanche conditions exist. Triggering a large avalanche is likely on many steep slopes. Skiers and riders should continue to choose low-angle terrain that isn't threatened by steeper slopes above. There have been many human-triggered avalanches in the past week. Most of these were triggered remotely—from below, above, and to the sides of steeper slopes.

Problèmes avalancheux

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Likely
    Taille
    2

    We are a week out from a storm that produced dozens and dozens of natural avalanches in this zone. The highest concentrations of observed slides were in the Baker Creek (photo, photo) and Pole Creek (observation) drainages. More importantly, we are continuing to see obvious signs of instability, including both human-triggered and natural avalanches.

    Yesterday, an experienced observer in the Baker Creek drainage remotely triggered a large avalanche that failed on a steeper slope adjacent to where he was skiing. He reported hearing wood breaking as the avalanche descended the slope. I was in the Gladiator Creek drainage yesterday, investigating a large natural avalanche (photo at right) that appeared to have released within the past two days. You can watch a video describing what I found and why it is important here: Gladiator Creek Avalanche.

    There are two key factors that point to this instability being especially long-lasting and unpredictable: 1) the buried weak layer is especially bad, and 2) this weak layer has been very slowly loaded over the past three weeks. Recent natural and human-triggered avalanches confirm this fact. We urge backcountry skiers and riders to continue to choose low angle slopes and to pay extra attention to the terrain they're "connected" to. Remotely triggering an avalanche from below, above, and to the sides of steep slopes remains a very real possibility.

    (1/10/2021) Bed surface and debris of large natural avalanche in upper Gladiator Creek.

Avalanche Discussion

I understand your frustration when you check the forecast every morning and the avalanche danger remains elevated. I would love to be able to tell you that everything is safer today. But, my job isn't to tell you what you want to hear, it is to accurately describe the conditions in the backcountry. The snowpack varies across our area, but the basics are the same everywhere. Weak, faceted snow is buried beneath a 1-3' thick slab.

Even as the days pass since the storm last week we continue to see obvious signs of instability relating to this weak snow. Each day, observers report widespread cracking and collapsing of the snowpack, even on heavily traveled skin tracks. More importantly, observations of both natural and human-triggered avalanches continue to roll in. Our snowpack is speaking to us plainly and cleary. Our job as riders and skiers is to listen to what is being said. 

We deal with dangerous avalanche conditions by operating with wide safety margins. Stay alert to the terrain that you are traveling through and that you are exposed to from above. Today is not significantly different than yesterday and we need to continue to make conservative decisions in the backcountry in order to ensure our safe return home at the end of the day. 

Have a look at the Weekend Update that I published on Friday to catch up on more of what happened this past week. 

Régions couvertes