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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Out of date — this forecast expired 6 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

You’re most likely to trigger an avalanche in terrain with recently wind-drifted snow, but very steep, convex slopes in sheltered areas are also suspect. Evaluate the bond of new snow layers before committing to steep terrain, and use lower-angle slopes to reduce uncertainty.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Moderate overnight winds will drift the light snow at the surface. Add another 3–6” of light new snow, and fresh wind slabs are likely to form on leeward slopes. Most should be small, but they may be hard to spot if covered by a few inches of softer snow.

    Use scoured slopes, cornices, and drifts to figure out where a wind slab might be hiding. Stomp on tiny cornices and wind-drifted features to test reactivity. Hand shears can also help assess the bond of fresh wind slabs. Choosing slightly lower-angle, more planar terrain is an easy way to reduce your chances of triggering one.

    Small wind-loaded features at ridgeline can serve as test slopes to gauge wind slab reactivity.

  • Storm Slabs

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

    Yet another slab was triggered in very steep, unsupported terrain in the Baker Backcountry on Monday. While the new–old snow interface often strengthens quickly, some areas are still showing reactivity three days after the latest storm.

    Plenty of steep terrain has been ridden over the past few days without issue. Convex, unsupported slopes steeper than 40° are still in play. The suspected weak layer is spotty in distribution and might be hard to find, so snowpack tests may not provide clear answers. There’s not much you can do to manage risk beyond treading very, very carefully on suspect slopes—or avoiding the steepest terrain altogether.

    (2/14/2026)

    A human-triggered avalanche occurred on Valentine’s Day after a storm dropped just over a foot of snow onto a patchwork of crusts, soft snow, and weak layers in the Baker Backcountry.

     

    Photo: Megan Guinn

Avalanche Discussion

Look out for rollerballs and wet snow moving on steep slopes picking up direct sun. Temperatures will be quite chilly, but there may be just enough warming and new snow to produce another round of small wet loose avalanches.

Observers in the Baker Backcountry reported gusty winds, drifting snow, and skin tracks filling in at 5500 feet. No fresh wind slabs were reported at mid elevations. The most notable observation was another skier-triggered slab avalanche on a very steep, unsupported mid-slope feature on the east aspect of Table Mountain at about 4900 feet.

The upper snowpack varies widely across aspects, elevations, and locations within the forecast zone. Low- and many mid-elevation areas have minimal snow cover, especially in heavily forested terrain. Most sun-exposed slopes now have a sun crust topping the 6-16 inches of soft snow that fell February 13th-14th. 

The most notable layering is found 8–16 inches below the surface, above a stack of crusts, some of which are bracketed by buried surface hoar or rounding facets. However, the distribution of persistent weak layers appears irregular and drainage-specific. More developed persistent grains have been observed around Cascade Pass and in Canyon Creek north of Hwy 542.

Most recent avalanche activity, though, has been in the Baker Backcountry, where these grain types have not been clearly identified in profiles or test pits. The reason for this discrepancy isn’t fully understood. Regardless of the grain types involved, the old–new snow interface remains capable of producing a slab on just the right steep, unsupported slope.

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