Loose Wet
- Alta quota
- Limite del bosco
- Sotto il limite del bosco
- Probabilità
- Likely
- Dimensione
- 1–2
Heavy rain will introduce liquid water into the snowpack, rapidly increasing the likelihood of wet snow avalanches. These slides could take various forms; wet loose, wet slab, or even glide. Additionally, you might see cornices sag and collapse. Regardless of what you call them, you’re not going to want to hang out on or below large paths where slides could grow large enough to bury or kill you. Be wary of precariously hanging blocks of snow that might break above or below you. Peak instability for large wet slab avalanches will be in the very early morning hours, then drop to possible during the day.
Until water has time to drain out or refreeze, avalanches will be of concern. Don’t linger in terrain traps where avalanche debris can concentrate and be aware of steep terrain overhead where avalanches can start. Particularly on slopes with wet sloppy snow, consider avoiding avalanche terrain until the snowpack has fully refrozen.
(12/9/2024)
A small skier triggered wet loose avalanche at Lichtenberg Mtn in the Steven's Pass zone.
Photo: Katie Warren