Avalanche forecast

West Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 5 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Your largest avalanche concern is wind drifted pockets of snow at upper elevations. Identify thicker, firmer snow deposits as you travel and avoid them in steep terrain.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Winter kicked off with a large storm over the weekend, depositing several feet of snow in the mountains. The light snow easily redistributed with wind into reactive slabs in above treeline areas. Winds backed off in the last 24 hours and the snow is gaining strength.  A couple inches of snow could fall Thursday morning, which is not expected to be enough to change avalanche conditions. Remain alert as isolated pockets of wind drifted snow are still present.

    Search for slabs on leeward slopes, on gully sides and around rocky outcroppings. Use quick tests like hand shears, test slopes and simply stomping on small wind-drifted features to evaluate wind slab characteristics as you travel. This will help you identify how widespread, deep, and reactive the slabs are.  Steer around steep slopes where you identify these deposits.  Pay attention to wind shifting snow throughout the day, as new deposits could also form.

    (12/13/2021)

    Wind textured snow surfaces like this are a great indication of potential wind slabs. 

    Photo: Robin Pendry

Avalanche Discussion

Yesterday I traveled into the Mountain Loop Highway area. Snowlines are lower than this time last year, currently sitting at about 1000ft and making driving to higher elevations more challenging. Substantial coverage begins around 3000ft, where snow depths were 2-3ft, and increasing to 6 feet at my top elevation of 4600ft. Snow wasn’t wind affected where I traveled, and surface conditions were dry, low-density powder in the upper portion of my travels.

Keep in mind that our snowpack is not yet at midwinter depths - exposed creeks, rocks, and stumps are still very real hazards. If you get out on a trip in the West Central zone we’d love to get an observation from you! Our platform allows private observations, visible only to forecasters if you prefer. You can submit an observation HERE.

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