Olympics

An incoming storm may form very shallow wind drifts that should not pose an appreciable hazard. Several inches of new snow may mask firm crusts and exposed ground in places, creating highly variable and potentially treacherous riding conditions.

Temperatures drop sharply early morning and we're expecting 1-3" of snowfall in the Hurricane Ridge area on Monday with decreasing light to moderate winds - a thin veneer of winter. You'll want to watch for drifts more than 6" deep if you head to the highest and most exposed lee slopes. These are the locations where you could trigger a slab avalanche that may be consequential in extreme terrain. Most likely, you may find cracking snow surfaces within pizza box thin slabs or sluffing of snow if it bonds poorly to the widespread crusts of varying firmness underneath.

Non-avalanche hazards remain a challenge for backcountry travel on Monday:

• Prepare for icy slopes on the surface or shallowly submerged on all aspects. Make sure you can arrest a fall before traveling on a steep slope.
• Recently exposed slopes may have shallow new snow covering thinly-veiled obstacles such as rocks and roots.
• Glide cracks have opened in many typical avalanche start zones during the last month of mild weather. Steer around these crevasse-like features. Glide avalanches are increasingly unlikely as cooler weather moves into the region.
• Many streams and creeks have opened up at lower elevations.

The upper snowpack has undergone many days of melt-freeze cycles since the last real snowfall on January 30th. Minor wet loose activity ended 02/07 .  The stout and very slick late January crust may be under a few inches of old settled snow or scoured at the surface.  Below the 1/30 crust, there are no layers of concern in the snowpack.

2021-22 Forecast Schedule: Avalanche danger ratings will be issued for the Olympics every Friday through Sunday and during mid-week holidays. During the week when the Hurricane Ridge road is closed, forecast information will be updated daily to include expected conditions and relevant travel advice under the No Rating label.