Avalanche Forecast
Jan 25th, 2019–Jan 26th, 2019
Alpine
2:
Moderate
The avalanche danger rating in the alpine will be moderate
Treeline
2:
Moderate
The avalanche danger rating at treeline will be moderate
Below Treeline
1:
Low
The avalanche danger rating below treeline will be low
Alpine
2:
Moderate
The avalanche danger rating in the alpine will be moderate
Treeline
2:
Moderate
The avalanche danger rating at treeline will be moderate
Below Treeline
1:
Low
The avalanche danger rating below treeline will be low
Regions: Stevens Pass.
The Bottom Line: Expect the warmest temperatures of the winter, so far. Warming, sun, and uncertainty of the snow layers at upper elevations will maintain heightened conditions. If you are heading to higher slopes, use caution on slopes 35 degrees and steeper.
Snow and Avalanche Discussion
With warming and sun, uncertainty about the snowpack is increasing. Most loose wet avalanches you will see are a few days old. You may encounter soft, wet snow on sunny slopes and low elevations.
About 13†of snow, followed by rain on Tuesday night and Wednesday led to a widespread natural avalanche cycle throughout the Cascades. Many large paths in the area ran including Wellington, Highway Chutes, Lichtenberg Southeast side, Arrowhead Northeast Bowl, The Swath, and likely others. It rained up to around 5,000ft, but at that elevation the crust is reported to be fairly thin.
Avalanche Problems
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches can be dangerous. On the heels of the last storm, there's still a lot of uncertainty about if you can trigger these avalanches at upper elevations. The best approach is to pick conservative terrain, and avoid exposure to large avalanche paths until more information can be gathered.
A layer of surface hoar, buried on January 17th, should be 2 to 3 feet down from the surface. The main elevations of concern for it the weak layer are above 5500ft. Digging in the snow and using snowpack tests can help you confirm if it exists. Try not to make decisions on single tests or snow profiles.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 2