Bollettino valanghe

West Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Pericolo valanghe

Wed
Alta quota
2 · Moderato
Limite del bosco
2 · Moderato
Sotto il limite
1 · Debole
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Non aggiornato — questo bollettino è scaduto 6 months ago. Stai vedendo condizioni passate, non il bollettino in corso.

In sintesi

You’re most likely to trigger an avalanche in terrain with recently wind-drifted snow, but very steep, convex slopes in sheltered areas are also suspect. Evaluate the bond of new snow layers before committing to steep terrain, and use lower-angle slopes to reduce uncertainty.

Problemi valanghivi

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alta quota
    • Limite del bosco
    • Sotto il limite del bosco
    Probabilità
    Possible
    Dimensione
    1–2

    Moderate overnight winds will drift the light snow at the surface. Add another 3–6” of light new snow, and fresh wind slabs are likely to form on leeward slopes. Most should be small, but they may be hard to spot if covered by a few inches of softer snow.

    Use scoured slopes, cornices, and drifts to figure out where a wind slab might be hiding. Stomp on tiny cornices and wind-drifted features to test reactivity. Hand shears can also help assess the bond of fresh wind slabs. Choosing slightly lower-angle, more planar terrain is an easy way to reduce your chances of triggering one.

    Small wind-loaded features at ridgeline can serve as test slopes to gauge wind slab reactivity.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alta quota
    • Limite del bosco
    • Sotto il limite del bosco
    Probabilità
    Possible
    Dimensione
    1–2

    Yet another slab was triggered in very steep, unsupported terrain in the Baker Backcountry on Monday. While the new–old snow interface often strengthens quickly, some areas are still showing reactivity three days after the latest storm.

    Plenty of steep terrain has been ridden over the past few days without issue. Convex, unsupported slopes steeper than 40° are still in play. The suspected weak layer is spotty in distribution and might be hard to find, so snowpack tests may not provide clear answers. There’s not much you can do to manage risk beyond treading very, very carefully on suspect slopes—or avoiding the steepest terrain altogether.

    (2/14/2026)

    A human-triggered avalanche occurred on Valentine’s Day after a storm dropped just over a foot of snow onto a patchwork of crusts, soft snow, and weak layers in the Baker Backcountry.

     

    Photo: Megan Guinn

Avalanche Discussion

Look out for rollerballs and wet snow moving on steep slopes picking up direct sun. Temperatures will be quite chilly, but there may be just enough warming and new snow to produce another round of small wet loose avalanches.

Observers in the Baker Backcountry reported gusty winds, drifting snow, and skin tracks filling in at 5500 feet. No fresh wind slabs were reported at mid elevations. The most notable observation was another skier-triggered slab avalanche on a very steep, unsupported mid-slope feature on the east aspect of Table Mountain at about 4900 feet.

The upper snowpack varies widely across aspects, elevations, and locations within the forecast zone. Low- and many mid-elevation areas have minimal snow cover, especially in heavily forested terrain. Most sun-exposed slopes now have a sun crust topping the 6-16 inches of soft snow that fell February 13th-14th. 

The most notable layering is found 8–16 inches below the surface, above a stack of crusts, some of which are bracketed by buried surface hoar or rounding facets. However, the distribution of persistent weak layers appears irregular and drainage-specific. More developed persistent grains have been observed around Cascade Pass and in Canyon Creek north of Hwy 542.

Most recent avalanche activity, though, has been in the Baker Backcountry, where these grain types have not been clearly identified in profiles or test pits. The reason for this discrepancy isn’t fully understood. Regardless of the grain types involved, the old–new snow interface remains capable of producing a slab on just the right steep, unsupported slope.

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