Bollettino valanghe

West Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Pericolo valanghe

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

In sintesi

The snowpack does not like rapid change, which is what’s happening right now. Give it time to heal and adjust to this wet and wild storm by avoiding large avalanche paths and overhead hazards. Unless you’re standing on a firm crust, difficult-to-predict wet avalanches should be on your mind. 

Problemi valanghivi

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alta quota
    • Limite del bosco
    • Sotto il limite del bosco
    Probabilità
    Likely
    Dimensione
    2

    Until liquid water in the snowpack has time to drain, wet avalanches will be of concern. These slides could take various forms, such as wet loose, wet slab, or even glide. Additionally, you might see cornices sag and collapse. Regardless of what you call them or their character, wet avalanches are poorly understood and difficult to predict. You’re not going to want to hang out near large paths or under precariously hanging blocks of snow where these slides could grow large enough to bury or kill you. Consider traveling terrain as you do when high hazard is forecast, particularly on slopes with wet sloppy snow. 

    (12/13/2023)

    Rain on snow events can leave behind a lot of destruction. Wet slabs, wet loose, glides, wet and soggy surfaces, and runnels are all common. This wet slab occurred last season during a rain on snow event in December. 

    Photo: Jon Gibson

Avalanche Discussion

Freezing levels Tuesday night should soar above most mountain peaks, delivering soaking rain to our previously cold and dry snowpack. This should kick off a natural avalanche cycle, helping to maintain very dangerous (high) avalanche hazard in the overnight hours. 

By Wednesday morning, the bulk of natural avalanches should subside, but we can’t rule out a few isolated slides as the snowpack adjusts to this rapid change. You’ll likely find the highest danger first thing in the morning, followed by decreasing hazard throughout the day as the storm fizzles. 

Backcountry travelers plus Pro Patrollers at White Pass and Crystal Mountain all reported 4-6” slabs on Tuesday. They were easily triggered by humans as temperatures and precipitation rates increased. Many failed at the base of the new snow while a few may have failed in older layers from this past weekend. We’ll likely be done with dry snow problems by the time day breaks on Wednesday, but it helps to illustrate that the snowpack does not like rapid change and was adjusting accordingly on Tuesday. We don’t have any observations from the volcanoes, but they exceeded areas closer to the crest in precipitation and warmed earlier in the day - natural avalanches likely occurred there, some large. 

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