Avalanche forecast

Olympics

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 8 months ago.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

Highlights

If you poke around in steeper wind loaded terrain, you might trigger a relatively small avalanche. These would be most common directly below sharp cornices, in confined chutes, or below cliffs. Fortunately, there should be plenty of fun soft snow to enjoy in less rocky terrain.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    The wind slabs you're dealing with on Sunday will be a few days old and starting to get harder to trigger. They often need a much steeper, convex, unsupported, or complex slope to release. They also become tough to assess and predict. Our normal bag of tricks frequently doesn’t work. Even skiing or cutting a slope might not give you reliable information. 

    The only real thing we can do is identify them and either avoid them or roll the dice. Visual clues like scoured slopes, sharp cornices, and subtle drifts can help us locate certain aspects and features where this problem likely exists. On these slopes, we might find pillow-like slab, or the snow may look ‘fat.’ Once you’ve found them, then its up to you to decide if the risk of an avalanche on that slope is worth it.

    (3/21/2024)

    Example: Steep rocky terrain like this is where you might encounter an older wind slab. 

    Photo: Kaitlin Harrigan

Avalanche Discussion

Sunday looks like another beautiful winter day in the Olympics! One thing that has our attention is the sunshine and slightly higher temperatures. Snow will likely shed from rocks and trees; the question is, will that result in any significant loose avalanches? It’s certainly worth keeping on your radar. Pay attention to the terrain above you and don’t linger under steep rocky slopes. 

All this new snow sits over a thin, breakable crust about 8 inches below the surface. We don’t know much about this recent snow, but suspect it's right-side-up and without significant weak layers. As the new snow settles, that could change. Watch for cracks on uptrack tests, or hand pits that easily produce clean blocks. If you see these signs, the snow is changing in ways we didn’t anticipate. 

All the recent snow has been a welcomed sight! Snowpacks across the Olympics increased dramatically this past week. Even still, snowdepth are much thinner than we’d like, and plenty of obstacles abound to make even a simple outing more challenging. Watch out for all the open creeks, random holes, and grabby bushes.

Regions covered