West Slopes South

Saturday's main hazard is the tough travel conditions. Surfaces are slick and variable, so consider using boot or ski crampons for better grip. Traveling through the forest without a packed trail will be particularly challenging. If you can find your way to and from, you may find soft recycled snow on shady and sheltered slopes at the higher elevations.

Fresh snow remains elusive. Florida and Louisiana are still outpacing the WA Cascades in recent snowfall totals, and the primary hazard is the challenging surface conditions. Even with sunny skies on Saturday, cold temperatures and the weak January sun aren’t expected to soften the snow much, even on sunny slopes.

Travel is somewhat easier—but still hazardous—on open slopes. Expect a mix of ice, breakable and supportable crusts, and, in a few higher elevation shady slopes… dry loud powder composed of facets and surface hoar. NWAC forecasters and snow professionals noted better-than-expected surfaces in sheltered, shady zones, but reaching these areas can be difficult. Often, softer snow is scattered and interrupted by patches of firmer snow. It’s a mixed bag! The bag is less mixed under the forest canopy. It’s bad. Refrozen tree bombs, frozen old tracks, and forest debris combine to make travel slow, challenging, and occasionally dangerous.

To navigate these hazards, aim for well-traveled, low-angle paths get from the forest to open slopes. In some areas, walking might be the safest and most efficient way to move. Crampons and an ice axe could be necessary; make sure you’re comfortable using them. On sustained and firm slopes, carefully assess the risk of a long sliding fall and whether you could self-arrest. The risk of a sliding fall may be even more elevated on the volcanoes.

As for the snowpack, it’s generally locked up. While weak snow exists at the surface and around the 1/10 crust, creating slab avalanche danger requires a cohesive slab, and that will take a storm. With little snow available for wind transport and the fact that wind-blown facets or surface hoar don’t tend to pack together well, fresh wind slab formation isn’t expected despite the shifting winds. If you were to encounter an avalanche on Saturday, it would likely be in an isolated and extreme piece of high-elevation terrain where old wind-drifted snow sits on top of the 1/10 interface. While unlikely, this is worth keeping in mind if your plans include complex terrain.