Avalanche forecast

West Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Rain and overnight freezing levels of 6000ft will give us a moist start Thursday. Wet snow avalanches, including glide cracks, are your largest avalanche concerns. Snow conditions changed extensively in recent days, with more rocks exposed and extremely variable snow surfaces providing us with challenging travel conditions Thursday.

Avalanche problems

  • Glide Cracks

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Rain on an already well-transformed snowpack may slightly increase our chances of seeing glide avalanches once again. Keep an eye out for glide cracks on steep slopes, and avoid areas beneath them. A better freeze occurred in the West North zone than in many other zones, with a foot-thick knife hard crust found at 5000 feet in the Baker backcountry Wednesday. Other areas may not have quite as large of a crust, so if you find yourself sinking deep into the old snow, avoid steep nearby slopes as well.

    (1/19/2022)

    Not quite glide avalanches, but to change it up, many broken pockets of unsupported snow exist in steep, rocky areas. Watch out for these unsuspectingly breaking loose and coming down with warm temperatures Thursday. 

    Photo: Lee Lazzara

Avalanche Discussion

Dropping snowlines and strong winds could lead to wind slab development in new snow at upper elevations Thursday afternoon. Search for thick drifts in gullies, around rocky features and on leeward slopes. If snow develops into drifts nearing a foot in depth, consider avoiding those drifted areas on steep slopes. This is especially the case if you find cracking, and small isolated slabs easily pops off the snow beneath it.

Pockets of unsupported snow stuck on cliff bands, which may come down in the warm weather .A rapidly shrinking snowpack left us with exposed rocks in areas where they were previously covered. Tree-covered slopes have very irregular snow surfaces. At lower elevations you might find very loose, sloppy snow. Keep all of these challenges in mind if you get into the backcountry on Thursday.

Regions covered