Bollettino valanghe

West Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Pericolo valanghe

Mon
Alta quota
2 · Moderato
Limite del bosco
2 · Moderato
Sotto il limite
1 · Debole
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Non aggiornato — questo bollettino è scaduto 2 years ago. Stai vedendo condizioni passate, non il bollettino in corso.

In sintesi

You’re most likely to encounter avalanches within the few inches of recent snow. While you may trigger loose slides on any aspect, they could be more common on southerly slopes as sunshine and warm temperatures heat the surface. Don’t let a small slide push you over a cliff or into a creek

Problemi valanghivi

  • Loose Wet

    • Alta quota
    • Limite del bosco
    • Sotto il limite del bosco
    Probabilità
    Possible
    Dimensione
    1–2

    There are several inches of wet new snow at middle and upper elevations. You may be able to push this snow into a small avalanche on some steep slopes. It may even trigger easily and run quickly on an underlying crust. In general, these slides should be small and relatively easy to manage. Don’t let one catch you off guard in high-consequence terrain. 

    Sunshine and warm temperatures should help the snow warm up quickly. This could result in a barrage of rollerballs and a few natural wet loose slides. Expect more avalanche activity on slopes that receive direct sunshine and near warm objects like rocks and trees.

    This shallow wet loose slide ran far downhill. (3/22/2024) Photo: Craig Muderlak

Avalanche Discussion

It’s spring, and conditions are very dynamic. This always makes forecasting tricky. Things change quickly. Don’t let your travel hinge on just a few morning observations. 

It’s been 6 days since our last reported deep slab avalanche, and that single occurrence seems isolated. For more than a month, we’ve been talking about facets on and just above the Early February Crust. These persistent weak layers produce numerous avalanches in all areas of the zone. They haven’t magically disappeared, but the recent spring-like weather not only tested the snowpack, it helped it warm, and start to heal. A strengthening crust just below the recent snow is also helping reduce concerns about these deeper avalanches. You could still encounter this problem in large complex terrain or if a large trigger (cornice, serac, other avalanche) fell on a very steep slope below. 

Observations from Saturday indicate 3-5in of wet heavy snow. This added to the few inches from Thursday. A report from the Crystal backcountry noted the new snow was poorly bonded to the old surface. The snowpack seems to vary by elevation below the recent snow. Higher in the terrain, a new crust continues to grow thicker and stronger. Lower (below ~5500ft), this layer becomes more punchy and variable.  

Somewhere in the upper elevation band the new snow likely transitions from wet to dry. If you head to higher terrain, you may trigger shallow slabs on convex rollovers, unsupported slopes, and wind-affected areas. There's probably not enough new snow to produce a significant storm slab issue. However, we don't have much information from areas above 7000ft in the zone. 

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