West Slopes South

After a sunny weekend, Monday should be cloudier with a slight chance of flurries. Despite the pattern change, generally safe avalanche conditions will persist. Long slides on a firm surface remain the primary travel hazard within the zone.

Well, we’re in for a pattern change, at least temporarily. After a beautiful, sunny weekend, expect to find more clouds on Monday. There may even be a few flurries!

Even if it snows, there certainly won’t be enough to create an avalanche hazard. With more clouds than in past days, don’t expect firm surfaces to soften much, if at all. So, continue to focus on travel hazards as your primary concern.

The question then becomes whether there is enough snow to cover some of those firm, icy slopes, helping reduce the slip-and-fall hazard. The answer is likely no. But we’ll allow for the possibility that, in some areas, an inch of snow can vastly improve travel.

Regardless of how the weather plays out, you should still use good travel techniques and recognize that the mountains are inherently dangerous. Long, uncontrolled slides have been reported throughout the Cascades over the past week and will remain a concern wherever a firm surface is in place.

On slopes that receive direct sunshine, many patches of bare ground exist. Open creeks and holes, along with exposed rocks and bushes, are widespread and pose a hazard in their own right.