Olympics

Information remains limited in the Olympics, so ease into the terrain and evaluate. Cool, dry weather over the last 5 days has allowed the snowpack to consolidate and strengthen.  Isolated shallow wind slabs might still be found near ridgelines.

Kicking off the 2024-25 season for forecasting in the Olympics, the snowpack is off to a healthy start! As of Friday afternoon, the Hurricane Ridge weather station has 32" of total snow depth; Maggie's snow stake recorded 40" on 11/27. The wind events of mid-November created cornices on atypical aspects and also filled in forested areas. There is enough snow for avalanches to run above around 4,400 ft, but minimal coverage below that elevation.

On Friday, ONP Rangers found crusts on most sun-exposed aspects. They got a failure in column test about 14" down that we don't think is concerning at this time. This layer is worth monitoring, but with a cool start, light winds, and no precipitation, the layer is unlikely to be stressed.

On Wednesday, ONP Rangers found widespread surface hoar resting on near-surface facets in most locations that are at all sheltered. On sun-exposed aspects, the weak surface grains rest on a crust, while on shaded aspects, they found about 3" unconsolidated dry snow. The remainder of the snowpack consists of decomposing fragments down to melt forms sitting on the ground. The weak grains are on the snow surface where they don't present a problem.

Moving forward, maintain typical vigilance for pockets of wind-drifted snow along ridgelines and for the impacts of the sun along with rising daytime temperatures. These may  include snow shedding off rocks and cliffs or rollerballs gaining steam. And ease into the season, recognizing that observations have been very limited in the Olympics until now.

If you get out tomorrow, consider submitting an observation on the NWAC Avy App or here.