Olympics

Variable snow conditions will be the name of the game with colder temperatures but little new snowfall expected over the next few days. If the weather system delivers more snow than forecast, use caution on steep slopes below ridgelines where you find freshly drifted snow.   

Take care to navigate crusts, old and chunky avalanche debris, bumpy rain runnels, and exposed or barely covered ground hazards at lower elevations.  Maybe we'll get lucky, but snow and avalanche conditions are unlikely to change much over the next few days.  Light upslope snow showers may locally refresh snow surfaces Tuesday night or Wednesday along the north slopes of the Olympic range.  

NPS staff reported small loose wet avalanches on an East aspect Saturday, but no slab avalanches have been observed since much earlier in the week.  If you look around it's easy to find evidence of the major avalanche cycle from a week ago.  Hurricane Ridge received more than 4 inches of precipitation over three days ending March 1st.  Fluctuating snow levels produced heavy snow, and at times rain near treeline during this storm cycle.  Debris piles litter the landscape from a widespread avalanche cycle. Some shaded slopes produced very large (D2.5-3) slab avalanches. The most notable of these slides occurred in North Bowl (N, 5200’, WS-N-R4-D3-O) where the crown stretches nearly the entire width of the feature. 

2021-22 Forecast Schedule: Avalanchedanger ratings will be issued for the Olympics every Friday through Sunday and during mid-week holidays. During the week when the Hurricane Ridge road is closed, forecast information will be updated daily to include expected conditions and relevant travel advice under the No Rating label.