West Slopes South

The majority of the zone should experience generally safe avalanche conditions on Wednesday. If you find yourself on the volcanoes, be sure to take a few extra minutes to determine if conditions are more in line with Moderate. If the sun is out for a prolonged period of time, look for rollerballs and pinwheels as an indication that the new snow is starting to weaken.

For much of the zone, this storm didn’t deliver the snow we had hoped for, resulting in generally safe avalanche conditions and a bit of an over forecast on Tuesday. The outliers as usual are the volcanoes where we could have some higher storm totals. Be sure to take extra care and evaluate conditions before committing to terrain if you are on Mount St. Helens or Mt. Rainier on Wednesday. You could find that conditions more closely resemble Moderate. Regardless of your location, you should be thinking about several things if you are traveling in the mountains.

1. How much snow actually fell in your location? If it's more than 6”, you should start thinking about Storm Slabs. Use hand pits or test slopes to see how the new snow has bonded to the underlying surface. 
2. If you see evidence of wind transport such as textured surfaces or fresh drifts behind natural objects, look for small pockets of wind-drifted snow to steer around. 
3. If the sun comes out, it could destabilize the new snow (regardless of how much) and start to produce some rollerballs and pinwheels on steep sunny slopes. If there is enough new snow that you are sinking in past your ankle, you should start to consider the possibility of Wet Loose avalanches developing.
4. Some slopes contained a smooth crust prior to Tuesday’s storm. Consider the possibility of Dry Loose avalanches running far and fast in these areas.
5. We anticipate any potential avalanche to be small and be isolated to the snow above the recent atmospheric river crust. The depth of snow over this crust will vary depending on elevation, aspect, and location within the zone. With all of these problems, the goal is not to get tripped up in consequential terrain or near terrain traps. 

Last week’s atmospheric river rain event caused a widespread avalanche cycle throughout the zone. Evidence is still easy to spot, with avalanche debris, open creeks, rain runnels, and a variety of natural hazards emerging. A few inches of new snow that fell in the middle of last week may have lingered on slopes that do not see direct sunshine and started to lose strength (facet) over the weekend. If new snow from Tuesday is overlaying this weaker snow, you could see some touchy conditions. On the sunnier side of the compass, last weekend’s springlike weather helped to develop a strong melt-freeze crust. 

Your biggest challenge on Wednesday could be dealing with difficult travel conditions. We’ve mentioned a lot of the variable surfaces and hazards above, including frozen avalanche debris, open creeks, firm icy surfaces, wet and sticky surfaces, or new snow overlaying weak snow or a crust. Be sure to give yourself some extra time and bring the equipment needed to safely navigate these obstacles.