Olympics

Enjoy the generally safe avalanche conditions, but expect a rapid increase in avalanche danger Friday night and Saturday. A thin rime crust on all aspects creates the potential for challenging travel. And don't forget about the barely covered early season obstacles at all elevations.

Hurricane Ridge was tied for its lowest snowpack in our record for the station as of January 1st. Currently, 14" of snow sits on the ridge proper. There's a lot of variability in snow depth by aspect, but you can expect the only rideable snow is on the northern half of the compass above around 4500 ft. A crust sandwich caps the shallow snowpack at Hurricane Ridge on all aspects. The most recent atmospheric river (late December) was buried on January 2nd by low-density snow. About 3/4 inch of low-density snow sits atop the crust and is capped by 1/4" of rime on all aspects at Hurricane Ridge elevation. We'll be monitoring this crust sandwich as more falls and we do expect more significant storms heading into this weekend and early next week. The recent layer of snow and rime does little to disguise the lack of snow on most aspects, but if you find rideable snow, expect shallowly buried objects that may be sharp.

We're expecting 1-2" of snowfall over the next 24 hours, peaking early Friday along with moderate winds. Small amounts of new snow may drift around, but they are unlikely to create a real hazard. If it snows and/or blows more than we expect, you should keep an eye out for pockets of slab 6" or deeper that might be problematic in steep or extreme terrain near ridgeline.

On 12/30, a public observation from Mt Townsend found a dusting of snow at the summit, snow depths of less than 2' in a wind-loaded NE gully, and little snow below 5200' in general. Observers were out in the Hurricane Ridge area on Friday, traveling on foot on southerly aspects so they could access northerly aspects where there was enough snow coverage to link turns.  Thanks to the sustained mild temperatures, they found enjoyable and spring-like conditions at the end of December.   In Klahane Bowl on northerly aspects,  roughly 1.5-2" of snow sits over the latest crust.  There were numerous rollerballs and point releases visible from the recent warm and occasionally rainy weather.  No new avalanches or layers of concern were observed.  

NWAC may issue a gray "No Rating" for an elevation band when there is not enough snow to present an avalanche hazard.