Bulletin d’avalanche

West Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Danger d’avalanche

Tue
Alpin
3 · Marqué
Limite forestière
2 · Modéré
Sous la limite
1 · Faible
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Périmé — ce bulletin a expiré 6 months ago. Vous consultez des conditions passées, pas le bulletin en cours.

Points saillants

It’s snowing and blowing! Expect the avalanche hazard to increase as you gain elevation and move into more exposed terrain. Blowing snow and fresh wind lips can help you anticipate potentially dangerous slopes. Use lower angled and more sheltered terrain to enjoy the fresh snow.

Problèmes avalancheux

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Likely
    Taille
    1–1.5

    With cooling temperatures, generally light precipitation rates, and modest snow totals, the wind should become the biggest factor in the avalanche danger on Monday. Sustained moderate to strong winds could easily build fresh slabs not only on the lee sides of ridges, but also further down slopes, along the sides of gullies, and in openings in the trees. 

    The blowing snow hitting you in the face should make it pretty easy to figure out local wind patterns and anticipate potentially loaded slopes and features. If you start noticing wind transported snow low in the terrain, remember, this problem will only become bigger, more common, and more dangerous as you ascend. 

    We expect the new snow will bond well to the old, warm, wet surface. However, there’s still a chance you might cause a small sluff or shallow storm slab on very steep or unsupported terrain. These slides shouldn’t be a big deal unless we get more snow than anticipated.

    (2/26/2026)

    Blowing snow, textured surfaces, rime, and drifts make it easy to locate wind loaded slopes. 

    Photo: Dallas Glass

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Unlikely
    Taille
    1.5–2.5

    It’s been a warm and wet few days. Even though it's snowing, it will take a bit for all the recent water to work its way through the snowpack. In the meantime, isolated large natural wet avalanches aren’t out of the question. These would most likely be slabs releasing on our old persistent weak layers or blocks of snow shedding off rocks. 

    These aren’t avalanches you are likely to trigger. Instead, it's more about paying attention to what’s above you and limiting the time you spend exposed to this potential hazard. Wet avalanches would most likely occur in complex and rocky terrain. If you’re traveling below, move quickly, and regroup in areas without overhead hazard.

    (1/31/2026)

    Example: Wet slabs could still release in rocky, unsupported terrain like this.  NE, 6600ft. 

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

Welcome back winter! Cooling temperatures should bring snow well below trailhead elevations Sunday night and Monday. This could result in lower snow-to-water ratios, or put more plainly, fluffy powder could accumulate at middle and upper elevations. Hopefully, this is the start of a cold and snowy week. 

We need the snow after several warm and wet days. On Sunday, rain once again reached into the upper elevations before snow levels slowly began to drop. This gradual transition should help the new snow stick to the old surface. It seems water has reached our persistent weak grains in most locations. While they are wet, they may still be weak and unstable, but as the snow freezes, we might finally put these layers to bed. The one big question mark will be locations near Crystal Mt where considerably less rain fell.  You may still see both the 2/13 interface and 2/7 crust if you look carefully in all the wet snow. 

It’s been a rough year, and the warm, wet weather didn’t do us any favors. Snowpacks are particularly thin at lower elevations, in the forest, and on southerly aspects. Open creeks, random holes, exposed rockets, and downed logs take time and patience to navigate safely. 

Régions couvertes