Bollettino valanghe

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Pericolo valanghe

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

In sintesi

It remains possible for you to trigger avalanches in pockets of wind drifted snow on Thursday. Steer around slopes that appear wind textured and rounded. As the day heats up, consider moving off of steep solar aspects especially if you notice rollerballs or pinwheels. 

Problemi valanghivi

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alta quota
    • Limite del bosco
    • Sotto il limite del bosco
    Probabilità
    Possible
    Dimensione
    1.5–2.5

    The past two days have offered all the ingredients( new snow, strong winds, and long duration of wind speeds) needed for some hard, stubborn wind slabs to form. And now to mix things up - winds are shifting more easterly - so you may notice these wind drifted slabs forming in less common areas like west aspects. 

    As you travel, be in tune with changing snow depths and texture. You’ll typically find these slabs lurking on the downwind side of ridges, under cornices, below cliff bands, and near the top of chutes/couloirs. Fortunately, this is an easy avalanche problem to navigate around. You can use visual clues to help you identify slopes of concern. Look for active loading or slopes that appear textured and fat. Pillow-like slabs or ripples at the snow surface all indicate wind loaded terrain. As always, pump the brakes if you notice shooting cracks or hear snow that sounds hollow like a drum. 

    (3/14/2023)

    This was an explsoive triggered hard slab that broke 3-5 ft deep in a heavily loaded spot. The meadows patrol found these slabs to be stubborn, isolated, but clearly quite large once triggered. 

    NE aspect, 7200 ft. 

    Photo: Ben Ticknor

  • Loose Wet

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

    Pretty straightforward here… the sun will come out and make the snow surface wet and weak on solar slopes.You’ll likely see these fan shaped slides on steep solar slopes, especially near rocks and cliffs. Consider steering around these areas if you notice rollerballs and pinwheels. These are often indicators telling you that the snow surface is getting weak and that larger loose wet avalanches may soon follow. This problem will likely be more prominent at those mid-elevations that hold soft snow at the surface.  These should be small, but still consider the consequence if they push you into a terrain trap such as trees or a gully bottom. 

     

    Move off of steep sunny slopes if you notice signs like this. 

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

Avalanche Discussion

The Mt Hood area picked up 2–3 inches of new snow accompanied by very strong southwest winds on Wednesday morning. The Meadows Pro Patrol reported heavy drifting in many of their larger, alpine start zones. However, these wind speeds took a sharp nosedive and decreased into the light range by the afternoon hours.

High wind speeds this past week have built hard, stubborn slabs above treeline. This was verified on Tuesday when the Meadows  Patrol triggered a large (D2.5) hard slab that broke 2-5 ft deep in one of their alpine bowls ( A-Zone 7200 ft, NE Aspect).  Hard slabs can act in surprising ways. So if I were you, I would consider giving heavily loaded alpine terrain some time before committing to steeper lines in these areas. 

If you get out let us know what you see by submitting an observation!

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