Bollettino valanghe

Northern New Mexico

Taos Avalanche Center
Vedi sulla mappa

Pericolo valanghe

Sun
Alta quota
2 · Moderato
Limite del bosco
2 · Moderato
Sotto il limite
1 · Debole
Open full map
Non aggiornato — questo bollettino è scaduto 5 years ago. Stai vedendo condizioni passate, non il bollettino in corso.

In sintesi

New snow and strong winds will build wind slabs near and above treeline today. These stiffening slabs will be forming on firm hard surfaces that may allow them to travel long distances in steep terrain.  Avoid slopes over 35 degrees where you find 8 inches or more wind drifted snow or shooting cracks.  Although unlikely there is still a small chance you could find the right slab/weak layer combination to trigger a large and deep persistent slab avalanche.  Steep shallow snowpacks, near rock outcrops, and on the margins of the slab are the most likely places to trigger a persistent slab avalanche.

Problemi valanghivi

  • Wind Slabs

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

    New snow and strong winds today will produce stiffening wind slabs near and above treeline. If the forecast verifies, expect wind slabs to start forming by mid-afternoon. These stiffening sensitive wind slabs are building on top of firm surfaces, making for a good bed surface that may allow these slabs to run long distances.  Avoid slopes over 35 degrees where you find 8 inches or more of wind drifted snow. With strong and swirling winds, we may see slabs develop farther down below ridgelines. Pay attention to obvious clues like shooting cracks, wind drifted pillows or a smooth rounded appearance on the surface. A smaller wind slab avalanche has the potential to step down into deeper weak layers creating a larger more destructive avalanche.     

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Faceted weak layers on North through East and SE aspects continue to linger deeper down in the snowpack. Triggering a persistent slab avalanche today is unlikely but there is still a remote possibility you could find the right slab/weak layer combination to trigger a large and dangerous avalanche. Before committing to a slope, consider the consequences if you were to trigger one of these larger avalanches.  The most likely places will be in shallow snowpacks (we still have several of these) in steep terrain. Avoid likely trigger points, near rock outcrops, steep convex rolls, and on the margins of the slab.  

    We have also been noticing mid-pack and near-surface facets around crusts and previous wind-packed slabs that have become more reactive in stability tests. A quick pit is a great way to identify if this layer exists.  As we start to load slopes and build cohesive slabs over the next couple of days, these facets in the mid-pack and closer to the surface may become more of a concern. 

Avalanche Discussion

It'll be a dynamic next couple of days as a potent storm slowly makes its way to NM.  Strong winds and close to a foot of snow are expected through the weekend bringing a return to winter. Snow should start falling by the afternoon today and we could see intense precipitation rates at times. There is still some uncertainty of the timing of this storm today as the initial round of snow may stay east of the central mountain chain. If you're heading out into the hills, expect changing weather and avalanche conditions throughout the day and through the weekend.

In travels, we have been noticing recently formed near-surface facets from last week's high pressure in the mid and upper portions of the snowpack forming around melt-freeze crusts and wind-packed layers. These layers should become more of a concern as we start to load slopes building cohesive slabs on the surface. Deeper down in the snowpack, large facets and depth hoar continue to linger near the ground in shallow snowpacks (less than 150 cm of snow).  With a significant load from this incoming storm, we may see these faceted layers become more reactive from what we've seen over the last couple of weeks. We also have the potential for a 1-2-3 combination from a shallow wind slab stepping down into upper faceted weak layers before finally impacting the deeper facets near the ground creating a very large avalanche.     

As another round of winter impacts our mountains, it'll be time to take a step back from the bigger lines we've been playing on.  Avalanche danger will increase throughout the weekend and may stick with us into the middle of next week with another storm potentially right around the corner.  Once we start to see the snow falling, lower angled wind-sheltered slopes will provide the safest and best skiing and riding.

Regioni coperte