Avalanche forecast

West Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

Wind drifted snow near ridgelines, on steep, convex rolls and around features could avalanche with a human trigger. Feel for heavier snow, scan for pillows or wind-shaped features, and pay attention to clues like cracking as indicators for steep slopes to avoid. Loose snow avalaches could happen on Tuesday - dry on the northerly half and possibly wet on the southerlies if the sun shines enough. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Moderate avalanche danger means is still possible for a human to trigger slab avalanches. Avalanches in wind-exposed areas near and above treeline could occur with a human trigger. On Monday, a few observations with small natural and human triggered wind slab avalanches came in. Avalanches are mainly expected to be small, and around a foot deep, but there's a chance you could trigger a larger pocket, running a little deeper. 

    You're most likely to encounter reactive wind slabs near ridgelines, in gullies, around rocky outcroppings or on steep rollovers. Some wind slabs may be hidden under a few inches of non-wind-affected snow, making them difficult to find. If you feel thicker snow,  experience long, shooting cracks or other signs of instability, take this as an obvious clue that avalanches could occur on nearby steep slopes. Avoid slopes greater than 35° where you identify wind-loading or other red flags. 

    With warming temperatures there's a chance that previously low-density snow could "slab up" and get heavier, and avalanches more akin to storm slabs could occur if this happens. 

    (4/3/2023)

    Small wind slab pockets that naturally avalanched along a ridgeline. Note the wind featured surface and deeper looking drifts you can identify along the ridge, where the avalanches occurred. NNW, 6000ft, Canyon Creek

    Photo: Hans Brubaker

Avalanche Discussion

Loose dry avalanches ran in abundance over the last 2 days. They'll probably continue, to a slightly smaller extent, on Tuesday. They may be more limited to northerly terrain, and slopes may need to be a little steeper for these sluffs to run, closer to and above 40°. This type of avalanche shouldn't catch you by surprise; they're something that you should expect to trigger if you enter steep terrain.  Make sure to be aware of your and your partners' sluffs if you're getting out on steep slopes. 

The last couple days we've gotten a little warmer and seen a bit more sun. Tuesday should continue with this trend, and we suspect you could see some moist snow on steep southerly slopes and wet loose avalanches may occur. A thin crust may exist at the surface in some areas, but a couple late afternoon inches of snow probably covered the subtle crust some areas may have gotten from a bit of sun Monday morning. Below treeline, very small slab avalanches or loose snow avalanches may still occur. Make sure to stay alert for large tree bombs, creek holes, firm, chunky snow,  slushy snow, and other springtime hazards at lower elevations.  

Most of our snow came in over the weekend, with  around 1-1.5ft, but we've still been getting a surprise few inches here and there from these early April squalls. In general, we've seen good bonding to the underlying crust which is present on the southerly half of the compass. On the northern half, underlying surfaces are mainly wind-affected, or possibly just a little harder than the fluffy snow we've gotten in the last few days. Many reports have come in of the best sliding and riding conditions of the year in the last day or two. Observers on Mt Shuksan on Monday reported seeing natural D1-D2 (small-large) avalanches which were coated with a four inches of snow, so were suspected to have occurred on Sunday. They were a combination of dry loose, some of which stepped down, releasing slab avalanches. 

 

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