Avalanche Forecast

Avalanches are unlikely today. No significant avalanche problems exist in this region as a result of a very strong surface crust and uniform well consolidated snowpack.  Continue to use normal caution. Always carry a beacon, shovel, and probe and use travel practices that minimize your exposure to avalanche terrain.

There are however other travel hazards outside of avalanches to be considered to stay safe in the mountains under the current conditions.

A hard smooth surface crust has formed as of Friday and should persist Saturday following a clear cold night. A slip and fall in steep terrain above rocks or cliffs could be today’s biggest hazard in the mountains.

Several glide cracks have been reported so watch for these potential travel hazards. With the cool expected weather, these cracks are more of a danger if you fall in them than an avalanche problem.

Over the past week the snowpack at Hurricane Ridge has consolidated 18 inches as a result of both rain last weekend and mild temperatures much of this past week. 

A clear and cold night Thursday allowed for a very strong surface crust to form by early Friday. The strong crust to all elevation bands is limiting the potential for avalanches in this zone.

The mid and lower snowpack in this area is a few months ahead of schedule and already resembles mid-spring snow conditions as a result of extended warm temperatures or rain to high elevations. Melt water has now drained through uniformed snowpack that ranges fairly dramatically from about 3-4 ft on solar aspects to 7-10 ft in the deepest shaded slopes.

The recent warm and wet weather has also allowed glide cracks to open on several slopes with smooth ground surfaces. Some of these glide cracks produced large Glide Avalanches over the past week in common locations such as Steeple, and the Steep-and-Icy avalanche paths.

Cornices have reduced in size significantly over the past week of mild and periodically wet weather. 

Observations

NWAC pro-observer Matt Schonwald and NPS Rangers traveled in the Mt Angeles areas Thursday, 2/8. The snowpack was described as a fairly uniform, well drained late spring snowpack, lacking any distinctive layering. The recent warm weather, rain and winds have melted or stripped significant snow from the southerly facing terrain and even shaded terrain near large rocky features. There were a few glide avalanches observed, likely releasing last Saturday during a rain event. Cornices had been trimmed greatly over the past weeks mild and wet weather.