Olympics

Firm, frozen snow surfaces that aren’t softening in direct sunshine remain an elevated risk for long sliding falls. Be prepared to arrest a fall before crossing steep terrain. Minimize time spent beneath glide cracks and other overhead hazards.

Despite the warmer temperatures on Saturday (reaching into the 30s at Hurricane Ridge), snow surfaces didn't soften very much except on steeper S-facing slopes. The snow surfaces remain mostly firm and locked in place with minimal change expected despite mild conditions on Sunday. On shaded aspects, ONP Rangers reported a stout, supportable 2.5 in crust that has been decomposing from underneath with 0.5 mm faceting snow with net radiative loss cooling this layer to 10-20F .  Waterhole is illustrative of flat middle elevation snowpacks, maintaining approximately 2 ft of snow over the last week. Shallow snow hazards are increasing once again and snowpacks and coverage are now highly aspect dependent following several weeks of sunshine. Ridgelines and sun-exposed slopes now have discountinuous snow coverage, so most of the rideable snow is on the northern half of the compass. At Mt Ellinor in the SE Olympics, snow started around 4300 ft on the summer trail as of 01/19.

The most significant travel hazard remains the risk of a long, sliding fall on the firm surfaces that exist on most aspects. Uncontrolled sliding incidents have been reported in the Cascades over the past week, and conditions in the Olympics are very similar. Especially hazardous conditions exist where tree bombs have created slick ice and uneven surfaces in the trees. Before you move across steeper icy slopes, make sure to have the proper traction and be ready to arrest a fall. Other travel concerns include typical overhead hazards like rockfall or chunks of precariously perched snow that could tumble down on you deserve your attention. 

A handful of glide cracks and other activity has been reported on shaded aspectgs in the viscinity of Hurricane Ridge. Glide cracks and avalanches occur when water draining the snowpack lubricates underlying smooth surfaces and bedrock. They can occur days after rainfall or warm weather.  We think that the lack of melt reported on these shaded aspects means that further activity is highly unlikely. Still, use safe travel precautions, noting the characteristic brown frowns and limiting exposure to the slopes benearth them. Reported glide activity, all are at least a week old by Sunday:

• A large 1.5-2 meter deep open glide crack was reported on 01/18 on a NE aspect at 5600 ft off the road to obstruction point.
• A glide crack was observed, in North Bowl just below Sunrise Point on 01/17. The timing of the crack opening remains uncertain.
• A large glide avalanche was reported on 01/15 on a steep N-NW aspect on the trail to Hurricane Hill (Steep and Icy Path). The exact timing of the avalanche is unknown.

Sunday features full sunshine in the morning, followed by high clouds. Despite the mild temperatures forecast, we think it's unlikely that you'll see wet loose activity on Sunday, given the prevalance of crusts in the terrain. If this activity develops, it is more likely on shaded aspects where thin crusts could break down if high clouds create some "greenhousing".

Weather station note: We are working with the NPS to restore communications to the Hurricane Ridge weather station.  Right now, we don't have an estimated return time.