Avalanche forecast

West Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Blustery, windy weather is scheduled to return on Thursday after a day of rest. Identify and avoid steep slopes where you observe wind-drifted snow. Recent snowpack and avalanche observations are limited to the upper Hwy 542 area. Be ready to assess avalanche danger for yourself if traveling in areas from which less information has been shared.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Snowfall amounts with the next storm are not impressive with 4-8" of new snow over the next 24 hours. What is impressive is the amount of cold, light snow on the ground, waiting to get strewn about by the wind. With a more westerly wind direction, there may be big differences in conditions in different parts of the zone. Some areas could see sustained strong winds drifting snow at even low elevations. Others may remain quite calm and in those areas avalanche danger will be lower.

    Blowing and drifting snow should show exactly which steep slopes are loading up. If it stops blowing but keeps snowing, signs of wind transport could become obscured. Track differences in snow stiffness as you gain elevation and change aspects to help pin down where fresh wind slabs might be hiding.

    Active wind transport should show you where you are more likely to trigger an avalanche.

Avalanche Discussion

While fresh wind slabs are the type of avalanche you are most likely to encounter, you could still trigger a slab avalanche in wind-sheltered terrain. A layer of facets overlying the 12/30 melt-freeze crust is now buried 3-5’ deep (or deeper!) in many locations. Avalanche activity failing at this interface is decreasing, but on Wednesday morning control work near Mt Baker Ski Area pulled out a slab avalanche 3-5’ deep. Given the depth it probably failed at the same 12/30 crust-facet interface. 

Weather conditions on Thursday will likely restrict travel in the kind of terrain where you might still trigger one of these avalanches. On the other hand, calmer conditions heading into the weekend will open the door to the bigger, steeper, and unsupported terrain where you might find one. Use caution approaching big slopes in the coming days and get a handle on snowpack structure and recent avalanche activity before considering more complex terrain.

No other natural or human-triggered avalanches were reported as of Wednesday afternoon. Riding conditions were excellent and visibility was pretty good for the majority of the day in the Baker BC.

Regions covered