Avalanche forecast

West Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Avalanche danger is generally low, but if you find yourself in extreme terrain at upper elevations, you might be able to trigger a small pocket of wind-drifted snow. Use caution around terrain traps, because even if a slide is small, you wouldn't want to get carried off a cliff, through rocks or trees, or buried in a gully.  If the sun pops out or snow gets wet, expect wet avalanches on steep slopes. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1

    Slab avalanches will probably be limited to small drifts from the previous 24 hours' snow. Some spots in the zone, like the Baker backcountry, may not have received enough snow for there to be a problem. The south side of Baker might have thicker new layers, where snow could be drifted 6 inches or deeper. 

    The wind will back off on Wednesday, so clues for identifying wind-drifted snow will be less obvious. Look for rippled surfaces and thicker "pillows" to help you identify where drifts may have formed. 

    Extreme terrain or high-consequence features below you are where you probably don't want to get caught in an avalanche, even if it's small. If there's more snow where you are, avalanche danger could be higher. 

    Example photo: Small wind slabs on steep rolls and exposed areas at upper elevations are where you'd might be able to find a small wind slab like this one on Wednesday. 

Avalanche Discussion

If the sun pops out, or even if we just get thinner clouds that might cause "greenhousing" on all aspects, rollerballs or small wet loose avalanches could result. If you notice snow getting wet and sticky or if you see rollerballs or small slides, avoid similar slopes and the areas beneath them where an avalanche could run down to. 

Wind transport in the previous few days probably built slabs somewhere, but no new wind slabs reactive to a human trigger were reported in the last couple days. Backcountry travelers were out all over the zone during the relatively nice period of weather on Sunday (Coleman Deming, Ruby Mtn, Cascade Pass, Baker backcountry). 

Several inches of rain fell in last week's atmospheric river, resulting in a large avalanche cycle. Check out the media gallery for photos of some of the carnage. The biggest concern with this recent period of warm weather and rain is that we haven't gotten much of a freeze since then. Temperatures are finally a little cooler, but the old snow surface is now insulated by a few inches of snow, and it never had a good freeze. 

Although chances are slim, a glide avalanche or cornice fall could still occur, or just an expanse of snow perched on steep rocks could unexpectedly come tumbling down. If you're traveling beneath any of these features, do so hastily, as this is a low likelihood yet high consequence scenario. 

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