Avalanche forecast

West Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Up to six inches of snow will fall Friday night and light snowfall will then continue through Saturday, with temperatures remaining cooler. You could trigger avalanches in wind-drifted snow at all elevations, although expect them to be larger and more reactive at mid and upper elevations. Search for thicker, heavier-feeling deposits of snow and steer around them on steep slopes. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Wind slabs that could react to a human trigger are expected to form on Saturday. About 6 inches of snow is forecasted to fall overnight, and another couple inches should fall during the day. Moderate to strong winds will help redistribute the snow into drifts along ridgelines, around rocky outcroppings and in gullies.

    The new snow layer will stay relatively shallow, so you can quickly dig down with your hand to check the interface between the new and old layer and determine how well the new snow sticks to the older layer. In most areas, the old snow layer got wet on Thursday and has probably frozen since then. Fresh snow could stick better to the old layer if it was damp as the snow began. If the old layer froze first, newly fallen snow may easily slide on the underlying crust.  Search for indicators like cracking, and avoid slopes greater than 35 degrees if you encounter cracking, or find thicker drifts, as they could react to a human trigger. 

     

    You could trigger shallow wind slabs like this one around features on Saturday. Photo:  Public Ob

Avalanche Discussion

Sunday through Tuesday two to three feet of snow fell in the West Central Zone. Deep powder meant great conditions for backcountry users on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday freezing levels skyrocketed to over 10,000 feet, and snow became wet on all aspects and elevations with only the highest peaks avoiding the melt. Wet loose avalanches and rollerballs ran on nearly all steep slopes holding snow. Freezing levels began dropping as precipitation came in early Friday, although much of the precipitation aside from above treeline was rain. By Saturday a 2000 foot freezing level is expected to finally freeze most surfaces. Continued unsettled weather with cooler temperatures is forecasted for the next week. Expect challenging snow travel in the coming days, with hard underlying bumpy surfaces but hopefully enough soft dry snow on top to lessen the chatteriness. 

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