Olympics

Water continues to drain through the snowpack, creating the low likelihood potential for very isolated glide avalanches. Note the glide cracks opening and cornices breaking off near the top of many avalanche start zones and limit your time under similar slopes.

Hurricane Ridge received 0.42" of rainfall Wednesday night through Thursday morning. Full sunshine came out in the mid-day hours. Very light snow fell as temperatures dropped below freezing by mid-afternoon. However, the cooling will be short-lived as freezing levels soar up to 9000 ft on Friday.

Observers at Hurricane Ridge noted widespread glide cracks opening in steep avalanche start zones with isolated actual glide avalanches over the past week. A small D1 (SSE, 4600 ft) glide avalanche failed during the day on Thursday and covered half of the Hurricane Ridge road. Over the past 10 days, temperatures have remained primarily above freezing with poor overnight refreezes.  Given the temperatures and glide activity, it's safe to assume that water continues to drain the snowpack. With a warming trend starting more rapidly in the Olympics than in other zones on Friday, expect the potential for isolated glide avalanches to continue. Limit your exposure to unsupported slopes or areas where cracks are forming in the terrain. With the cool start to the day, glide avalanches will be rare, but it's not worth the risk of exposure. We expect glide activity to become a more significant problem by the weekend. 

Warm temperatures and sunshine on Friday will create the potential for any sagging cornices that haven't already dropped to do so. Take note of these features and limit your time exposed to the slopes directly below.

Observers noted a 2-inch crust on northerly aspects with the crusts breaking down during sunshine on southerly aspects. Loose wet avalanche activity has mostly subsided as the snowpack has adjusted to sustained mild temperatures. If you encounter wet snow that you can sink into past your ankle, you can trigger a wet loose avalanche on slopes approaching 40 degrees.

The snowpack has taken a major hit from the prolonged warming. While the average snowpack is around 51", you'll now find many bare and grassy patches on sun-exposed slopes. Wind-drifted northerly aspects still have 6 ft or more of snow in many places. Below the crusts, expect to find plenty of rounded grains. We are not tracking any layers of concern at this time.

2021-22 Forecast Schedule: Avalanche danger ratings will be issued for the Olympics every Friday through Sunday and during mid-week holidays. During the week when the Hurricane Ridge road is closed, forecast information will be updated daily to include expected conditions and relevant travel advice under the No Rating label.