West Slopes Central

Avalanche danger remains Low, although snow amounts have slowly been inching higher at upper elevations. This means avalanches aren't completely out of the question. Follow normal travel precautions and prepare for firm surfaces at middle and lower elevations, and a generally thin snowpack down low. 

Over the last few days we've been getting about an inch of snow a day, give or take. Wind has backed off and we suspect much of the newer snow, even at upper elevations, is minimally wind-affected. The new snowline starts at about 3500-4000ft. Calm to light winds and the possibility of another inch or so of snow by the end of the day Thursday means you can expect similar conditions. If you make it to upper elevations, there's a very low chance you could trigger a small slab in freshly formed drifts if there's any subtle wind redistribution. Low density snow may easily slide on the crust as well.

Last week's large atmospheric river produced large and very large wet avalanches. There's just enough snow at mid and upper elevations that debris piles are beginning to get disguised, especially if visibility is poor. The large weather event resulted in a massive loss of snow at lower elevations. Snowlines are 3-4000+ feet depending on aspect. Creeks are exposed up to about 5000ft. Until you reach the newer snowline at about 4000ft, you'll be traveling on an old, firm crust. 

The stout crust is about a foot thick, and wet snow exists beneath the crust. Currently, avalanche activity in the foreseeable future is limited to above the crust. At upper elevations, there's around 6 inches of snow over the crust. On Sunday several observers found weak, faceted snow in the thinly distributed new layer above the crust in the West North and Stevens Pass zone.

Since last week, several people have traveled even to upper elevations without using the floatation devices such as skis or snowshoes that they'd carried with them. They came prepared with arrest tools such as crampons and an ice axe, however. If you make it into the backcountry on Thursday please submit an observation so we can hear about conditions where you traveled.