Lawinenlagebericht

Olympics

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Mon
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
3 · Erheblich
Unterhalb
2 · Mässig
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Kernpunkte

The Olympics were wallopped with 1-2 feet of new snow Saturday.  Give the snowpack time to settle and safely enjoy the new snow by choosing lower angle, sheltered and supported slopes.  If the sun pops out for an extended period of time, wet snow avalanches could become a hazard quickly.    

Lawinenprobleme

  • Storm Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Likely
    Größe
    1–2

    Storm slabs that were easy to trigger on Saturday should become more stable and less likely to trigger as the snow relents Saturday night and Sunday.   At lower elevations and on more wind-sheltered slopes, ease into steeper terrain, avoiding steep unsupported rollovers where you're still likely to trigger a slab avalanche in the new snow.   There's 1-2' of storm snow out there, more than enough to make for a large avalanche on the right slopes.  

    Larger and more consequential avalanches need to be on your radar where recent W-SW winds formed deeper drifts on lee aspects.  Avoid steep slopes directly below ridgelines where winds have recently drifted snow, as well as more consquential terrain like rocky entrances to chutes in higher terrain. 

    You can use quick hand pits or uptrack tests to see how the new snow is bonding to the old surface or new storm layers.  Shooting cracks and avalanches in the new snow are signs to avoid nearby steep terrain.  

    (3/15/2025)

    This 12" storm slab avalanche partially buried a traveller when the debris stacked up in a gully.  

    Photo: Public

  • Loose Wet

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–2

    You may see or trigger more than one flavor of loose snow avalanche on Sunday.  While the weather forecast calls for more clouds than sun, there's A LOT of new snow that's available to come down if it's warmer and/or there is more sunshine than forecast.  It's almost Spring and conditions can change much more quickly than even a month ago. 

    If you notice that the surface snow becoming moist or see rollerballs or pinwheels on steep slopes, move to lower angle slopes without overhead hazard or shadier terrain.  Wet loose avalanches could entrain a fair bit of new snow and pack a serious punch.  Pay attention to changing conditions and be ready to adjust your terrain choices if things warm up more than expected. 

    In very steep terrain, you may trigger a small dry loose avalanche or see point releases if the sun pops out for a short period of time.  Generally these are only an issue near terrain traps. 

    (3/17/2023)

    If the sun pops out for an extended stretch or warms up more than forecast on Sunday, you may see wet, loose avalanches like the ones in this photo.  

    Photo: Kaitlin Harrigan

Avalanche Discussion

Well this weather pattern certainly delivered, blowing through the weather forecast and stacking up 12-18" of new snow through 5pm Saturday.  Public and NPS Rangers reported touchy avalanche conditions with shooting cracks, and both natural and human-triggered storm slabs breaking in the new snow.  One avalanche resulted in a partial burial.  You can read them, here and here (we really appreciate sharing your observations!).  Blowing snow was also observed on Saturday along ridgelines and upper elevations.  All of this new snow made for great riding conditions and deeper trail breaking than we've seen for much of this winter. On Friday, NPS Rangers observed small human-triggered and natural loose dry avalanches (point releases ) on a variety of aspects during the first half of Friday.  By mid-day Friday under partly sunny skies, southerly aspects had moistened, and rollerballs were observed above road cuts to Hurricane Ridge.  

Prior to this weekend's storm cycle, the Hurricane Ridge area had received 10- 14" of snow over the past week from a few weather events. This recent snow sits above the 3/9 crust in the upper snowpack and has generally made for good stability, nice riding and travel conditions, and improved travel conditions at lower elevations. Shifting winds over the last week have drifted snow onto a variety of aspects and filled in some previously patchy areas along ridgelines.  Recent winds had also formed shallow wind slabs directly below ridgelines. The lower and mid-snowpack is strong and has a series of crusts.  

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