Avalanche forecast

West Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 8 months ago.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

Highlights

You can definitely still trigger slab avalanches in steep, wind-loaded terrain on Saturday. Use a lower-angle route to navigate around steep slopes and features you suspect hold wind-drifted snow. Bring an assessment mindset to upper elevations. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Winds will slack off overnight, but plenty of wind slabs will remain from Friday's wind and snowfall. They may be hard to identify, with up to a foot of soft snow hiding signs of wind transport.

    Use a ski pole or your hand to probe for dense, wind-drifted snow beneath the softer surface layer. Test slopes can be useful, but they must be performed in representative terrain, which may be challenging to identify when signs of wind transport are partially obscured.

    The easiest way to avoid the problem is to steer clear of steep, leeward slopes just below ridgelines and cornices, wind-loaded convex rollovers, and unsupported terrain around cliffs and gullies.

    (2/14/2023)

    Soft snow that falls with minimal wind can obscure obvious signs of earlier wind transport.

  • Loose Dry

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

    There should be plenty of soft, uncohesive new snow on the surface by Saturday morning. Descending steep terrain will likely send some snow moving downhill with you. Don’t get caught off guard as you move farther into your run and that moving snow gains enough mass and force to push you around.

    Loose snow avalanches should be small in size but can still hurt if you’re carried into trees or other terrain traps in the runout below. Morning sun could trigger very small loose snow avalanches, especially below cliffy terrain.

    (12/10/2024)

    Small loose dry avalanches in small terrain mean you could get much bigger ones on a larger slope.

    Photo: Julz Holder - Grounding Truth

Avalanche Discussion

Cold temperatures through the weekend mean it may take longer for wind slab instabilities to settle and gain strength. There should be plenty of terrain where you can travel with minimal risk and enjoy good riding conditions on Saturday. The trick will be identifying steep, wind-loaded features where it is still entirely possible to trigger an avalanche. When uncertainty rises, pick less consequential terrain.

A handful of human-triggered avalanches were reported on Friday. Avalanche control work produced a large, hard slab avalanche on a wind-loaded slope (photo). Another smaller avalanche (D1.5) was triggered on a very steep slope on the north side of Table Mt. No avalanches or observations were submitted from other parts of the zone.

Snowpit and slope testing produced failures both above and below a crust that formed and was buried on Dec 24th. It can be found 12-24” below the surface at middle elevations. The crust formed during a period of rainfall followed by rapidly cooling temperatures. The extent of this crust into upper elevations is unknown. 

State and local resources are working diligently to reduce the impacts of destructive storms that occurred earlier this month. We can help by respecting affected communities, complying with road closures, and adhering to ski area uphill travel policies.

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