Avalanche forecast

Olympics

Northwest Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 8 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

A few inches of fluffy snow may make it hard to spot the potentially dangerous wind loaded slopes. Keep an eye out for fresh cornices and subtle drifts that point towards the features you want to avoid.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    We’re mostly flying blind with the upper snowpack in the Olympics. While we don’t expect there to be any tricky issues, there’s not much data to back that up. Even though we think avalanches will be limited to wind drifted snow, this could be a good day to ease into the terrain. Start with smaller and lower consequence slopes to gain information before tackling anything bigger. If you see cracking or tests fail in sudden blocks, dial it back and stick to simple and lower angled terrain. 

    The wind slabs you’re dealing with Saturday may be a day or two old and hiding under an inviting layer of new snow. The best way to track possible locations for wind slabs is by measuring the amount of new snow over a thin zipper crust (12/24). Make note of aspects and features where the new snow is deeper. These are the spots you may trigger an avalanche. 

    As wind slabs get older, they can be harder to test, especially if they are firm and/or feel hollow. Be particularly leery of potentially wind loaded slopes below cornices, in rocky terrain, or confined chutes.

    (12/18/2025)

    Example: Large wind features like this cornice or drifts can help you spot wind loaded slopes. Photo: Irene Henninger

Avalanche Discussion

It’s been an impressive week for the snowpack in the Olympics. Many stations doubled or even tripled their snow depths! At the moment, we don’t have much information about all this new snow over the very prominent 12/18 crust. We suspect it’s mostly right-side-up. 

NPS rangers on Christmas Day reported a very thin zipper crust below the most recent snow. This tracks with similar information from the Cascades. This breakable layer should be about 6-8 inches deep, and probably won't be an issue, but you may feel it as you travel. 

On Saturday, there should be plenty of sunshine and cold temperatures. This could result in a tree bombs, the snow shedding from cliffs, and maybe even a few loose avalanches. Given the chilly weather and time of year, this isn’t likely to turn into a big problem, but pay attention to what’s above you. 

Even with all the new snow this past week, conditions are still thin. Plenty of open creeks, random holes, and grabby bushes could make travel trickier than normal.

Regions covered