Avalanche forecast

West Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Look for another day of warm temperatures, sun, and wet avalanches to kick off the weekend. Don’t expose yourself to steep slopes chocked-full of wet snow, snowy cliffs, cornices, or anything else that will shed snow with continued warm temperatures. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Wet avalanches went wild today in some parts of the forecast zone with natural wet loose to D2 in size, generally on southerly aspects. Other areas saw more wind and stayed cooler, with little in the way of warming or wet snow. Expect a similar mix of conditions on Saturday as increasing winds and cloud cover keep avalanches in check in some locations, especially in the afternoon.

    You can likely get some wet avalanches or danger-sized rollerballs by pushing around snow on steep slopes full of wet mank. The bigger danger is large avalanches, cornice falls, or glide slabs releasing in terrain above you. Avalanches running thousands of feet through multiple elevation bands are not expected, but confined gully features can sometimes push wet avalanches down into low-elevation terrain. The best policy will be to severely limit how much time you spend below steep slopes or features holding wet, unstable snow.

    Sustained above-freezing temperatures often make for a gurmpy snowpack. Photo from a prior winter.

Avalanche Discussion

Preliminary Report: On Friday, February 28, three snowmobilers were riding near Harts Pass in the East North zone when they triggered a large slab avalanche. Two riders were caught and carried. One rider was fully buried and killed. The other was partially buried and injured. NWAC is working with local avalanche professionals to conduct an investigation. Our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and community. (NE, 6,800ft HS-AM-D2.5-R4-O)

You might find a few lingering wind slabs on the highest shaded slopes in alpine terrain. Most should be small but can still do harm if you take a ride on one in consequential terrain. Use visual clues like scoured snow surfaces and cornices to figure out where stiff slabs may have formed. 

Multiple wet avalanches to D2 in size were reported in terrain around the Baker BC on Friday, with one especially noteworthy avalanche running most of the distance down the east side of Herman nearly to Lower Bagely Lake. Recent wet avalanches were also reported from Shuksan, with some releasing in shaded terrain. Very large wet slab and icefall avlanches from earlier in the week sent debris all the way to valley bottom.

In contrast, a team on the west side of Baker in the area of the Thunder Glacier reported much cooler conditions. Southerly winds kept the snow surface locked up except on the steepest slopes. Skiing conditions were reported as not good. No observations were reported from other areas of West North as of Friday late afternoon. Observers in alpine terrain in the West Central forecast zone also reported wet avalanches to D2 on southerly aspects.

Regions covered