​PSA: We’re Not Out of The Woods With Avalanche Danger Yet

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It’s March, the skies are blue and the sun is warming things up a bit (at least around here, where we’ve been under the spell of one the most epic storm cycles Jackson’s ever seen), so it’s time to start making plans for all those big objectives in the mountains we’ve been eyeing all winter. Let’s not forget though, we’re not out of the woods when it comes to avalanche hazard yet. In fact, the last few days have produced some monstrous deep slab avalanches all over the mountains out West. We’re talking ones for the history books, like the one observed just outside Alpental Ski Area on Washington’s Snoqualmie Pass, or massive cycles in the Tetons or Colorado. Washington’s Crystal Mountain Ski Area is even limiting access to terrain inbounds due to slides with 8-foot crowns ski patrol observed.

Where are all these massive avalanches coming from? Well, this season is a little different for most snowpacks across the West. It seems that we have all been experiencing some pretty gnarly persistent weak layers that simply haven’t had the chance to heal this year. What makes them particularly dangerous at this point in the season is that they are now buried so deep in the snowpack that the likelihood of you triggering an avalanche is low, but the consequences would likely be unsurvivable. What can you do? It’s pretty easy: avoid being on or under slopes over 30 degrees where the weak layer exists. Stay safe, friends!

The deep slab avalanche near Source Lake, WA that ran just a few days ago. | NWAC photo.

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center sums it up:

In a year like this we can describe the where these deadly avalanches could happen and the aspect and elevation of the slopes that are most likely to produce one. This is the good news. The bad news is that if you have ten of those slopes, it is really hard to predict which one will fail. Because very large Persistent Slab avalanches are so dangerous, the only safe way to manage your risk is by avoiding those suspect slopes. On a bad year like this, you might have to avoid those slopes for the rest of the season. This can be hard to do because people will test suspect slopes, and most will get away with it (they are low-probability events). And due to the nature of of the avalanche problem the danger is almost always MODERATE (Level 2) because these avalanches are hard to trigger. That combination -people testing slopes without immediate consequences and a MODERATE (Level 2) rating – doesn’t scream “dangerous” the way an avalanche warning does.

We’ve seen some tricky conditions over the last few weeks and there is no indication they are over, just quieter. Please read the forecast before you go out and keep in mind that this kind of Moderate (Level 2) danger includes some pretty big avalanches. The last time we saw a similar snowpack structure was back in 2012. That season ended with some tragic fatalities from these kinds of avalanches, like this image from Ptarmigan Hill near Vail Pass. 

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stash member Max Ritter

I manage digital content here at TGR, run our gear testing program, and am stoked to be living the dream in the Tetons.