Bulletin d’avalanche

Olympics

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Danger d’avalanche

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

Points saillants

Gusty winds Sunday night could build a few fresh slabs below cornices and cliffs. These firmer pockets might hide under a few inches of soft snow. Be leery of high consequence slopes you suspect are wind loaded.

Problèmes avalancheux

  • Wind Slabs

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

    With a few inches of recent snow to blow around, moderate winds Sunday night should make quick work of building a fresh crop of slabs along the lee side of exposed ridges and beneath rocky faces. These wind loaded pockets should be fairly small and relegated to commonly wind loaded features. Unfortunately, after the winds decrease another inch or two of soft snow could make spotting potential slabs a bit harder. Use larger features like cornices, drifts, and scoured slopes to discern local wind patterns and anticipate potentially loaded terrain. 

    Most of these slides should be small, but some could be large enough to knock you off your feet and take you for a nasty ride. As a result, these slides will be most dangerous in complex rocky terrain like chutes and above tree fences where even small slides can have big consequences.

    (12/26/2024) Sharp cornices like these can help you anticipate loaded slopes.  

    Photo: ONP Rangers

Avalanche Discussion

The snowpack may finally start to get a break on Monday as snow showers taper, winds ease, and temperatures cool. This should allow any lingering weaknesses to heal. We expect any avalanche activity to remain in wind-loaded terrain, however, there’s still some uncertainty about recent storm layers. Focus your observations on the snow above the Solstice Crust down about 1.5-2 ft (45-60cm). 

On Sunday ONP rangers reported 3 inches of new snow that was much lighter and drier than the previous day. This greatly improved travel conditions. Other backcountry observations from around the zone over the weekend echoed the ranger’s findings of a mostly right-side-up and stable snowpack. 

Down low, travel remains difficult. Variable crusts, thin coverage, and lots of obstacles create a different set of challenges and hazards. Fortunately, it also helps limit the avalanche danger. Give yourself extra time to manage all the down logs, open creeks, and brush.

Régions couvertes