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West Coast Snowpack Confidence Eroded

Posted by doug on Wed, 2012-01-04 09:58 in alpine, avalanche, bulletins, danger, hazards, mountains, rescue, risk, safety, Sledding, Story, training, treeline, warnings, weather

I think it’s fair to suggest that for the most part, we’re pretty lucky on the coast when it comes to snowpack stability.  We typically experience a rapid increase in the hazard rating in avalanche terrain during intense storm cycles which may include rapid warming and severe rain events (e.g look out the window) but similarly, these weather patterns tend to help consolidate and bond those week layers and help stabilize the pack and while the hazard never goes away, it often decreases near as rapidly as it increases in this wet, coastal climate.