Current Conditions
The high pressure has finally broken down and storms are starting to roll our way. Skiing corn in the sunshine was fun but we are all happy to have winter back. As I write this update I'm watching big, fat flakes fall outside my window. I've forgotten how sweet that is.
The current storm is coming in moist with freezing levels hovering around the pass elevations. The skiing today at Stevens was super fun but it was definitely on the verge of rain at times. The higher you went the better the skiing was. Stevens picked up about 7 to 9 inches of new and the skiing above 4,500' was good. We don't have reports from the field yet at Washington Pass but stayed tuned for updates.
Will Mondzac skiing corn on Mt. Hardy January 25, 2014
Avalanche Conditions
We predict this storm is going to produce a fairly widespread avalanche cycle. The snow is falling on a variety of surfaces from large surface hoar in the valleys, to refrozen sun crusts on solar aspects, to a mixture of wind hammered snow and near surface facets in the alpine. The one thing we have going for us is that this storm is coming in warm with relatively light winds and should cool considerably as the storm continues.
Skiing powder again! Stevens Pass 1/29/14
We are going to be most cautious with terrain near treeline on shaded aspects. This terrain should now have a buried surface hoar layer and/or buried near surface facets. At higher elevations we aren't seeing as much surface hoar and this new snow should bond fairly well (once you give it enough time). Watch out for complacency as you get closer to valley bottom. The bond at the lower elevations might not be as good. Video of surface conditions around Stevens Pass prior to this storm can be found here:
Also, keep an eye out on the solar aspects. These aspects picked up a lot of heat over the past week or so and the sun crust that developed froze solid prior to this storm. If we do get avalanches on these aspects they could run farther and faster than expected.
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.
Skiing Forecast
This week could be some of the best skiing of the season (yet). Snow will be piling up from now until Friday morning with decreasing temperatures. The winds during the storm look to be fairly light so we should see some quality powder on most aspects. The weekend should bring a clearing trend with further cooling. Temperatures may drop to the single digits at Washington Pass early next week with sunny weather forecasted. Not a bad way to end January and have a "fresh" start to February.