The first significant and extended warm-up of the Spring will lead to dangerous avalanche conditions, according to the Northwest Avalanche Center in Seattle, who posted a special bulletin earlier this week:
Mountain temperatures will stay well above freezing and freezing levels will soar to 12,000-14,000′ over the next several days. This warm-up will follow several weeks of below normal temperatures and snowy weather. At mid and especially higher elevations, the snowpack has not transitioned to a more typical and uniform spring snowpack. The likelihood of wet snow avalanches and cornice fall will be elevated over this period. The warm-up will also lead to rapid snow melt at lower elevations, challenging travel conditions, and other non-avalanche hazards. This statement may be extended through Sunday depending on how the weather pattern evolves.
* WHERE…The Olympic Mountains, Washington Cascades and the Mt Hood area.
* WHEN…Wednesday through Saturday
* IMPACTS…Wet snow avalanches will occur over this period. Some of these slides will be very large and destructive. Natural or human triggered wet snow avalanches will include wet loose , wet slab, and glide avalanches, as well as cornice falls.
* PRECAUTIONARY / PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
Backcountry travel considerations include:
1. Travel early in the morning during the coolest part of the day. Consider your return route and how conditions may differ on your way back to the trailhead.
2. If you see new or recent avalanches, avoid similar slopes.
3. Glide and wet slab avalanches are difficult to predict and may occur any time of day including well after the “heat” of the day has passed.
4. Plan your day to minimize exposure to areas where large avalanches can start, run and stop. On the volcanoes and higher peaks, very large avalanches can release from higher-elevation terrain and run thousands of feet downhill. Be aware of the terrain you’re connected to even at lower elevations.
5. Cornice fall and snow can shed from steep rocks. Limit or avoid spending time under these hazards.
6. Creeks, crevasses, and buried rocks/cliff features become more hazardous as the snowpack weakens and melts out around them. Snowbridges can collapse without warning. Use caution where these hazards exist.
