Bulletin d’avalanche

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Danger d’avalanche

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

Points saillants

At upper elevations, isolated steep slopes may shed wet snow, particularly off rock slabs and cliffs warming in the sun. But for the most part, you'll likely experience more significant hazards from thin coverage and challenging travel, including creek crossings, slick crusts, and shallowly buried obstacles. 

Problèmes avalancheux

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Unlikely
    Taille
    1

    Isolated steep rocks and cliffs may still shed saturated snow with even higher freezing levels and the chance for some sunshine on Sunday. The snowpack has been through multiple warm days already, so we don't expect many new wet avalanches, and they would likely be small. Upper elevations are currently challenging to access, and we have minimal information about the snowpack above 6000ft. However, if dry snow exists at the highest elevations, combining warm temperatures and sunshine could produce some isolated wet avalanches in alpine terrain. Consider traveling on lower-angle slopes if dry snow is becoming wet and heavy and you begin to see rollerballs. Be aware of overhead hazards from steep rock slabs or cliffs that may still shed slabs of snow. Even a small avalanche could have high consequences if you're pushed over and fall through steep terrain with exposed obstacles. 

    (1/16/2022)

    Steep rocks and cliffs are the most likely spots for small wet loose avalanches on Sunday.  

    Photo: Public Observation

Avalanche Discussion

Sunday will be another day of easterly flow and inversions. Expect sunny skies with much warmer temperatures at higher elevations and overcast skies with cold temperatures in the valleys. With this setup, you may find variable but challenging travel conditions with icy, slick surfaces down lower and wet, punchy snow up high. 

On Thursday, I traveled in the Bumping Lake area and found a wet and shallow snowpack (6-12 inches) at lower elevations. Once above 5000 ft, snow depths became more consistent at 2-3ft. The warm temperatures and constant cloud cover have kept the snowpack warm and prevented any refreeze in this area. Stepping off of my skis resulted in sinking through the entire snowpack to the ground. The snow was supportable to skis, but I'm unsure how a snowmobile might fare in these conditions. You can check out my complete observation here. 

Last weekend's atmospheric river brought 6-12 inches of snow across the east-south, but unfortunately, the storm ended warm with rain. Since then, observers reported variable travel and a breakable crust extending to upper elevations. We are uncertain about the current rain/snow line across the East South, but it's likely somewhere around 7000-7500 ft. We have minimal information about the snowpack above these elevations. If you take advantage of the better weather this weekend to get into alpine terrain, plan for this increased uncertainty and be prepared to make snowpack assessments as you travel. Look for blowing or drifting snow and use quick hand pits or test slopes to see how the surface snow reacts. 

Observations have been sparse since the recent storm, so if you get out, let us know what you see by submitting a public observation. 

Régions couvertes