Bulletin d’avalanche

Northern New Mexico

Taos Avalanche Center
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Danger d’avalanche

Alpin
2 · Modéré
Limite forestière
2 · Modéré
Sous la limite
1 · Faible
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Points saillants

It'll be another day with warm temperatures and the intense sun this time of year that will keep wet snow avalanches a concern today on steep solar aspects and lower elevation terrain. Rollerballs and pinwheels are indications that the surface snow is getting wet and gloppy.  These loose wet snow avalanches will start small but can entrain more snow creating larger debris piles further down the slope in places like terrain traps. It's becoming difficult to trigger a persistent slab avalanche, but faceted weak layers continue to linger deeper down snowpack on North through East and SE aspects near and above treeline. It's still possible to trigger one of these weak layers in a shallow snowpack.  Avoid likely trigger points near rock outcrops and on the margins of the slabs.

Problèmes avalancheux

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Faceted weak layers from December deeper down in the snowpack continue to persist on N through E and SE aspects near and above treeline. These weak layers are lingering typically in the bottom 60 cm of the snowpack or around crusts with the January and February storm snow forming slabs on top of these weak layers.  Triggering one of these deeper weak layers may take finding the right slab/weak layer combination or where the overlying slab is thinner and weak layers are shallower.  It may not be the first, second, but may take the fifth person on a slope to find a "sweet spot" to get the slope to avalanche.  

    Avoid likely trigger points, near rock outcrops, steep convex rolls, and on the margins of the slab. Obvious signs of instability like shooting cracks and loud audible collapses most likely will not be present in travels and lure you into steeper terrain.  Using a probe pole to feel for strong over weak layering or taking the time to dig down into the snowpack is a great way to assess if this poor snowpack structure exists.    Any persistent slab avalanche would be large and dangerous potentially taking with it most of the season's snowpack.  

    Shallow snowpacks like this from No Name Peak pose the biggest concern as faceted weak layers continue to linger and would be a lot easier to impact in this shallow part of the slope.

  • Loose Wet

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

    It'll be another warm spring day with temperatures climbing above freezing at all elevations today and approaching the 50's below 10,000'. It hasn't been taking long for the warm temperatures and the intense sun this time of year to quickly heat up the snow. That trend will continue today, like clockwork as the sun rises East facing slopes will be impacted first, then moving to South and finally West-facing terrain. North facing slopes below treeline may also feel the impacts of the warm temperatures today. Pay attention to rollerballs and pinwheels in the snow as these are indications of the snow surface getting wet. Loose wet snow avalanches typically start as a point release near rock bands and start to fan out further down the slope.  Long-running loose snow avalanches can entrain more snow as they travel down the slope potentially putting large debris piles in terrain traps.  If you notice the surface snow is getting wet and sloppy, head to a shady or north-facing aspect.

    Loose wet snow avalanches like these on southerly aspects tend to start as a point release below rocks bands

Avalanche Discussion

Spring has fully set in here in northern New Mexico and that pattern will stay with us today with an even warmer day on tap. It's that time of year where you have to adjust your time frame for skiing, getting an earlier start, and adjusting your aspects based on the time of day and where the sun is at. Yesterday a breeze at higher elevations helped limit some of the warming, but the surface snow was getting wet mid-morning with above freezing temperatures lasting until 7pm.  It was another night with a solid refreeze with temperatures in the high teens early this morning.  Today will be even warmer than yesterday and winds look to be light.  We could reach above freezing temperatures at all elevations that will keep wet snow concerns in the forecast.    

The persistent slab problem we've been dealing with most of the season has slowly eased since the last significant loading event from the Valentines Day/week storm in mid-February. Triggering one of these larger avalanches has become increasingly difficult but still not out of the realm of possibility. In deeper snowpacks, weak layers have become unreactive and most likely will need a big spring storm to become a problem. It's on specific slopes where we have shallower snowpacks, that weak layers continue to linger and remain reactive in long column tests.  If you find that right slab/weak layer combination right now, you could potentially release a large and dangerous avalanche that could take with it most of the season's snowpack. Don't just blindly assume a slope is safe because it has tracks on it

 

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