Avalanche danger high this weekend
With lots of snow on the ground and more falling, the three-day weekend promises great skiing and snowmobiling – but also high avalanche danger.
Heavy rainfall in valleys will turn into wet, heavy snow at higher elevations. Forecasters were predicting up to 18 inches at elevations above 2,500 feet, with wind gusts up to 30 mph.
The holiday weekend weather continues a pattern that prompted Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire to declare a state of emergency Friday in 12 counties because of washed-out roads and utilities.
Gregoire’s declaration opened the door for Spokane, Pacific, Grays Harbor, Clallam, Jefferson, Mason, Kitsap, King, Pierce, Skagit, Thurston and Lewis counties to seek federal disaster assistance.
One person’s disaster is another’s delight, however.
“It’s great skiing,” said Shep Snow, who provides avalanche training and prevention in Sandpoint. “It’s a little bit heavy. People from Utah would stay inside and knit, but people from North Idaho are having a blast.”
He provides avalanche control for the Selkirk Powder Co., which uses snow tractors to ferry backcountry skiers to the side of Schweitzer Mountain opposite the Schweitzer ski resort. Snow spent the day Friday digging test holes without finding a high-risk avalanche zone, but he saw plenty of reasons for caution.
“Basically, the snow is settling a little bit, but there isn’t a tremendous amount of tension built into it yet,” he said. “That said, the temperatures have been rising all afternoon, so we have a heavier snowpack on top of a lighter snowpack – which should always raise eyebrows and make people a little bit concerned.”
The problem is compounded by the fact that mountains in the area have had heavy snowfall and wind for the past five days, Snow said.
Because of that cumulative effect, he said, “People should not be traveling unless they are with an experienced partner, fully equipped for rescue, and use safe travel considerations.”
The national Forest Service rated the avalanche danger high in the Selkirk and Cabinet mountains on north- and east-facing slopes steeper than 40 degrees at elevations above 5,000 feet. Both natural and human-triggered avalanches are considered likely.
The danger was rated moderate on other slopes at those altitudes. Natural avalanches are unlikely, but people could still trigger one.
At the Schweitzer Mountain Resort, where explosives were used to trigger preventive avalanches earlier in the week, officials reported 10-foot avalanche crowns that ran wall-to-wall for the full length of the slide paths. Backcountry travelers could easily trigger similar avalanches by accident, the Forest Service warned.
The danger is greatest on north- and east-facing ridge tops because of snow blown there this week by southwest winds up to 48 mph. Snow and Forest Service officials urged extreme caution near snow “pillows” or cornices.
At lower elevations, on slopes of 30 degrees or less, “you’re in pretty good shape,” Snow said.
Across the country, about 30 people are killed in avalanches every year, according to the Forest Service’s National Avalanche Center in Bozeman, Mont. About two-thirds of the fatalities involve snowmobiles, which have gotten lighter and more powerful in recent years, allowing riders to climb steeper slopes.
For more avalanche information, call (208) 765-7323 or (800) 489-8664, or visit www.fs.fed.us/ipnf/visit/conditions.html on the Internet.