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RegisterFeb 7th, 2018–Feb 8th, 2018
Olympics.
Avalanche hazard will decrease on Thursday, but continue to pay attention to loose wet snow that may create a small avalanche and mitigate overhead exposure to large cornices. Large glide cracks may exist and may be hazardous in the terrain..
Cooler temperatures, mostly cloudy weather leading to partial afternoon sunshine, and windy conditions on Monday will limit wet snow problems on Monday.
Wet snow will take some time to firm up and temperatures will remain mild or slightly above freezing most of the day on Thursday, so you still may be able to trigger a small loose wet avalanche in the terrain on Thursday. Check the depth of your boot or ski penetration. At all elevations, avoid steeper solar slopes where wet, slushy snow becomes deeper than a few inches.
Large cornices exists primarily on NW-SE aspects along ridgelines in the Hurricane Ridge area. Recent mild air temperatures and rain have made these massive blocks of snow more likely to fail. After a several days of cooler weather, additional warm temperatures through Thursday morning will increase the likelihood of failure, so continue to give cornices a wide berth and avoid travel directly below corniced slopes.
Several glide cracks have been reported by NPS rangers. At this point these cracks should be more of a terrain hazard than an avalanche problem.
Light rain was seen Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning along with mild temperatures caused wet surface snow conditions over the weekend. Since this time, temperatures cooled to near freezing Monday, before a warming trend took hold Tuesday and Wednesday with temperatures reaching into the 40's Wednesday. Further snow melt has occurred, but not much more settlement.
The recent warm and wet weather has allowed water to drain through the snowpack to produced glide cracks on slopes with smooth ground surfaces. Observations indicate glide cracks in common locations such as 20th of June, Steeple, and the Steep-and-Icy avalanche paths.
Large cornices developed during the last two weeks of January along ridgelines near and above treeline.
Observations
NWAC pro-observer Matt Schonwald and NPS Rangers traveled in the Mt Angeles areas Friday. They observed moist to wet surface snow up to 6000 feet. Wet loose avalanches were seen releasing during sunny breaks around mid-day. They identified and avoided traveling near or below large cornices.