Olympics

Conditions remain dangerous at upper elevations following very heavy rainfall on Monday. Give the snowpack some time to let the water drain before exposing yourself to steep slopes or large avalanche runouts as slabs, point releases, and glide avalanches may be challenging to manage. Above 5000 ft, you may find thick dry snow slabs that you are most likely to trigger on a wind-loaded slope.

Hurricane Ridge added 1.5 ft to its snowpack over the last 30 hours with 2.65" of water equivalent added to the snowpack. Most of the snow arrived with temperatures just below freezing, so we expect that rain fell below 4000-4500 ft Sunday night. Rain likely fell up to around 5000 ft on Monday. Heavy rain and snow likely triggered a widespread natural avalanche cycle near and above treeline Sunday night into Monday, as the new snow overloaded 2-6" of lower density weaker snow sitting on a crust. Look for the evidence if you head out and consider the ample evidence for instability observed Monday in nearby zones before exposing yourself to avalanche terrain.  The rain-snow line will determine the type of avalanche problem you encounter on Tuesday:

• Wet avalanche problems as water gradually drains the snowpack, potentially maintaining dangerous conditions. Continue to avoid steep slopes and stay out from under large avalanche paths. Avalanches could entrain large volumes of snow down to the 2/19 crust, potentially becoming very large. Wet avalanches could fail as slabs, propagating across terrain features or as point releases. Water percolating through the snowpack may also re-activate glide cracks that have been dormant since mid-January. Glides can fail without warning and often linger well after heavy rainfall. Give slopes with large cracks an extra safety margin.
• Dry snow avalanche problems: We expect snow levels to lower slightly to around 4500 ft by Tuesday afternoon with moderate SW winds strong enough to drift snow. This additional snowfall may continue to destabilize slabs formed during the storm that have not yet seen rainfall. Avoid steep wind-loaded slopes and perform frequent hand shears and simple slope checks to test for slab reactivity.

Keep in mind that unusually dry and warm conditions in January and the first half of February exposed bare ground on many W and S aspects. Photos from these outings remain in the media gallery to remind you of the landscape prior to the snowfall and how the recent snow may just be enough to mask shallowly submerging rocks or stumps - or magnify the risk of a any avalanche. Take your time navigating shallow snowpack areas or open, gushing creeks in the valley bottoms.

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.