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 4 years ago. Stai vedendo condizioni passate, non il bollettino in corso.

In sintesi

You’ll probably notice the warm temperatures on Sunday and so will the snowpack. This could cause lingering dry snow to become wet and unstable even on shaded aspects. If you encounter sticky snow or see rollerballs, you could trigger slides on nearby steep slopes.

Problemi valanghivi

  • Loose Wet

    • Alta quota
    • Limite del bosco
    • Sotto il limite del bosco
    Probabilità
    Possible
    Dimensione
    1–1.5

    The warm temperatures could work in several different ways to create a loose wet hazard on Sunday depending on your aspect and elevation. However, you’ll always look for the same simple clues to alert you to the impending problem. Wet sticky snow, new rollerballs, and fresh point release slides should all cause you to think about loose wet avalanches. While you may trigger these avalanches on similar slopes, they could also occur naturally from terrain above you. 

    What’s a little unique with Sunday’s loose wet issue is that we’re actually most concerned about mid and upper elevation shaded slopes. Dry unconsolidated snow could be more susceptible to the much warmer weather. On southerly aspects and at lower elevations a surface crust could help limit the loose wet issue.

    (2/11/2023)

    A natural small loose wet slide on Saturday. 

    Photo: Andy Harrington

Avalanche Discussion

This Loose Wet forecast is anything but a slam dunk. Warm temperatures and sunshine will pay tug-of-war with the snowpack again a surface crust, increasing clouds, and cooling winds Sunday. This makes the loose wet hazard anything but certain. If thick clouds arrive early and the winds increase, you may not find any wet issues. Conversely sunny skies and warm temperatures most of the day could result in a more widespread avalanche concern. 

On Saturday, an NWAC Forecaster in the Crystal Mt backcountry found lots of new rollerballs and only a few very small loose wet slides. After a couple of days of sunshine, it may be hard to tell which avalanche/rollerballs are new and which are older. He also reported soft dry snow at mid and upper elevations on shaded aspects. 

Observations this week from around the zone (including Saturday) indicate a generally healing upper snowpack. While you can likely still find the 2/9, 2/5, and 2/3 interfaces, they haven’t demonstrated consistent concerning results in snowpack tests, and we haven’t heard of any recent slab avalanches. Even still, occasional reports of buried surface hoar, facets, and lingering larger snowflakes were received the past few days at what was likely the 2/5 or 2/3 interfaces around 1-1.5ft (30-45cm) below the surface. 

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