It's not deep, but it sure is fun.
Current Conditions
To say that this winter has been less than perfect is probably an understatement. Skiing is always fun but most of us at North Cascades Mountain Guides live for deep powder days. We've been patiently waiting for the next big storm but it has not arrived yet. The last day of true powder (boot-top or deeper qualifies in our book) was in January. That being said, we did pick up a few inches last weekend which has made the skiing much better. Now, shaded aspects above 5,500' are skiing pretty well. No one is getting face shots but the change in conditions is welcome.
We still have good coverage above 5,000' on all aspects with corn on the sunny aspects and cold snow on the shaded aspects. The low elevation skiing is pretty much non-existent. Go high or go home (or go nordic skiing on the groomed trails in the valley).
Enjoying the new snow this week. Photo taken March 2, 2015.
Snowpack Observations
The one upside to all the warm, dry weather is that we don't have any major persistent weak layers in the snowpack right now. That doesn't mean that there aren't any avalanche hazards in the mountains. You could still get caught and injured in an avalanche but the types of problems that we are dealing with right now (mainly wind slab) are a little easier to deal with.
Typically by this time of year we have several buried surface hoar layers that we would be tracking. We view this as the price we have to pay for living in the perfect climate for good powder skiing. The best powder skiing is usually found in places where surface hoar is the major problem. So, being the glass half full type of people we are, we are looking at the upside to this winter's weather and appreciate not having to deal with this problem yet this year.
The main avalanche concern right now are small wind slabs on a variety of aspects in the alpine and near treeline.
This page is for informational purposes only and is no substitute for gathering your own observations in the field and checking the avalanche report at www.nwac.us.
Beautiful weather and fun skiing near Washington Pass this week.
Skiing Forecast
It does not look like there is much snow in the forecast. The current low freezing levels should creep up during the week and into the weekend, but there should still be cold snow on the shady aspects in the alpine through next weekend and possibly longer. The corn cycle should be good on the sunnier aspects when the sun is out.
If you are looking to ski some cold powder we recommend earlier in the week. If you are looking to ski corn, your best bet would be this weekend. Have fun and keep it safe.