Avalanche Forecast

A mild day with increasing mid and high level clouds is expected on Friday. Despite the high freezing levels, Friday should be relatively cooler than earlier in the week. Increased cloud cover should also minimize the loose wet avalanche problems even on steep solar aspects. 

Remember that areas with shallow snow may become unstable first or may initiate from rocks or vegetation. Avoid steep sun exposed slopes when snow becomes wet in more than the top few inches.

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.  

West of the crest about 5-15 inches of snowfall Sunday was followed by about 3 to 7 inches of rain on Monday with a warming trend Sunday night through Monday. This led to a natural avalanche cycle west of the crest.

The largest avalanche observations came from the Baker area. The ski patrol there Monday reported widespread natural avalanches with consistent crown depths of about 2 feet. NWAC observer Jeff Hambelton scouting the aftermath on Tuesday in the Mt Baker area found evidence of widespread loose and slab avalanches. An avalanche class also reported unstable snow Sunday via the NWAC Recent Observations. Smaller natural avalanches from this period were reported in the Stevens Pass and Crystal area based on limited field observations.  

Sunny and unseasonably warm weather continued in the Olympics and Cascades through mid-week. West of the crest this has been allowing draining, consolidation, stabilizing and a general reset of the upper or even entire snowpack. Wet grains are slowly re-freezing throughout the snowpack. Surface crusts vary greatly across elevations and aspects.  

While the weather has been pleasant, ski conditions have generally been reported as poor over the last few days.