Avalanche Forecast

Very light rain and snow showers along with cool and cloudy conditions are expected on Saturday. This will not change the overall low avalanche danger.  The only specific avalanche problem along the east slopes of the Cascades exists in the Central Zone where the likelihood of triggering a persistent slab is very low.  

As a general backcountry travel safety note, watch for terrain hazards (exposed rocks, trees, streams, etc) at lower elevations and on wind scoured aspects. On non-solar aspects with a slick and supportable crust, take extra caution when traversing steep slopes and be prepared to self-arrest if necessary.  

East of the crest about 6-12 inches of snowfall last Sunday was followed by about 1 to 3 inches of rain on Monday with a warming trend especially on Monday.  This event led to a natural avalanche cycle east of the crest. At higher elevations in the northeast Cascades more of the precipitation fell as snow before precipitation ended on Monday. A period of freezing rain likely occurred at lower elevations Sunday night.

Backcountry skier/pro patroller Dan Veenhuizen was on Mt Cashmere on Tuesday and noted debris from large avalanches from Sun/Mon. At 6900 ft he found what should be the December facet layer at about 90 cm below the surface, however it was not reactive to an ECT. Also from this cycle the North Cascade Mountain Guides reported large avalanches up to D3 in the Washington Pass area, including slides reaching Hwy 20 but not crossing the closed highway. 

Mostly sunny and unseasonably warm weather followed mid-week in the alpine while the valleys stayed colder and cloudier. In most areas this weather has led to draining, consolidation and a general resetting of the upper or entire snowpack. While the weather has been pleasant in the mountains, ski conditions have generally been reported as poor over the last few days

The Mission Ridge area saw less precipitation but strong warming as well earlier this week. On Friday, Mission Ridge pro-patrol reported the warm and wet regime had stabilized the upper snowpack and formed a supportable crust in most areas. However, depth hoar involved in large skier triggered avalanches in this area around NYE remained intact post-storm. While it is highly unlikely for a human to trigger a persistent slab down to this layer, we will continue to call this avalanche problem out in this zone.    

Facet layer in a pit on Mt Cashmere on Tuesday by Dan Veenhuizen.