Avalanche forecast

West Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired last year. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Wet avalanches are our largest concern since we're in a warm period right now. Crusts may exist on steep slopes that faced the sun the previous day, but as the day warms up and when the sun shines intensely, natural and human-triggered wet avalanches could result on steep slopes facing the sun. If you observe avalanche activity or notice the snow getting wet and heavy, avoid nearby steep slopes and terrain beneath them where avalanches could run and stop.  

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Our first round of wet loose avalanche activity was on Wednesday. The day will be a little warmer, but given the high uncertainty with sun breaks, we could get more activity - or we could get less -  than the previous day. 

    Wet avalanches are usually fairly easy to predict. Track the sky cover and sun exposure. If the sun is shining intensely on steep slopes facing it directly for a couple of minutes, that might be enough for the surface to loose cohesion, and rollerballs or point releases might start coming down. If you notice wet, heavy snow at your feet, it's probably a good time to steer clear of steep slopes that are nearby. You could trigger an avalanche in the wet surface layer. 

    If you notice wet snow or any signs of natural avalanches, shift to lower angle terrain away from steep slopes, or change aspects to locations that don't face directly into the sun. In the morning more easterly slopes will be affected, before south-facing midday and westerly in the afternoon. West-facing slopes weren't as impacted by the sun on Tuesday since sky cover increased in the afternoon. 

    Overnight temperatures will be warm, but if we have clear skies, any previously moist snow will freeze and become crusty. Surface crusts will soften as temperatures increase and the sun further impacts them during the day. Cloud cover might soften more surfaces, or possibly even result in wet avalanches on more aspects than those facing the sun. 

    (2/26/2025)

    Dense new snow + warming = perfect pinwheels. Some may be very large, whereas other times they might be small. These could be the precursor before wet loose avalanches start running naturally. 

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1

    There's a small chance that you could trigger a shallow avalanche in a newly wind drifted deposit. If you see the wind actively redistributing snow, or find smooth or wind textured surfaces, consider investigating how well the snow is sticking to the underlying layer. Use small test slopes, or dig down with your hand to see how easily a column pulls off. If failures are easy then consider shifting away from steep, unsupported slopes nearby. You're most likely to find new deposits around rocky outcroppings, near ridgelines and rolls, and in gullies. 

    Your biggest concern with wind slab avalanches- or getting caught in a wet slide for that matter - is terrain traps. Even if avalanches are small, if they knock you off your feet and send you off a cliff, or into a boulderfield or stand of trees, or better yet, into a gully where you can get buried deeply, then your chances of survival are low. Stop, think, and evaluate the snow before entering terrain where you're above any of these features. 

    (2/26/2025) Very small, shallow pockets were reactive to human triggers on Wednesday. Photo: Max Bond

Avalanche Discussion

A forecaster in the Baker backcountry on Tuesday found that any larger storm and wind slabs from Monday's storm had become unreactive. Other observers found very small pockets of new reactive wind slabs (observation) and wet loose activity, but not as reactive as expected (observation).  Cornice failures may also trigger a slab avalanche on a steep slope beneath them. Given the warm weather right now, that isn't completely out of the question.

With the good visibility on Wednesday we were able to see some of the destruction from the weekend's atmospheric river, plus a few other more recent slab avalanches. There were several large and some very large avalanches that the weekend's several inches of rain resulted in, before turning to snow. 

Only the top 1000ft or less of the lower elevation band has enough snow to produce a sizeable avalanche. While riding at Glacier Creek on Monday I found that below 3500ft there was no longer any snow cover in thickly treed areas. If you make it out to enjoy the pleasant weather on Thursday, please share with us what you find by submitting an observation HERE or on the Avy app. And as always, even if danger is reducing, have a partner, travel one at a time in avalanche terrain, carry rescue gear, and know how to use it. 

Regions covered