Late Feb Conditions Report - NE Cascades

Report with pictures can be found here: www.ncmountainguides.com/2013/02/22/back...rt-february-21-2013/

Current Conditions

The best skiing right now is being found on North and East aspects above 4,000′. On Friday the 15th we experienced one of the warmest days of the winter with sunny skies and above freezing temperatures even at the higher elevations. Due to the clear skies the shaded aspects faired well (no melt freeze) but anything on solar aspects from SE to W picked up a sun crust. On Saturday the 16th we picked up 10 cms of low density snow with little to no wind. This snow has improved the skiing on the shaded aspects (now 20 to 25 cms of low density snow) but wasn’t enough to fully bury the sun crust on solar aspects. On Saturday we even had a few faceshots on those colder aspects. It’s been a while and it was a nice surprise.

On Thursday the 21st we were finding good skiing on north and east facing terrain near Washington Pass with ski penetration in the 20 cm range. The recent winds had been light and wind effect was limited to the top 100 vertical feet below ridge crest. Conditions will change dramatically with the incoming storm on Friday with strong winds, cold temps and lots of snow.


Avalanche Conditions

The current avalanche conditions as of Thursday the 21st are very similar to what they have been for the past month. The main concerns have been isolated pockets of wind slab and loose snow avalanches on steep north and east facing terrain. The low and mid pack have settled out nicely with no major persistent weak layers in our regular ski terrain. The one layer that may be of concern is a surface hoar layer that is now buried approximately 30 cms deep but seems to be limited to terrain below 5,000′.

The predicted storm that is hitting the area on Friday should change the stability and hazard dramatically. This is the first significant snowfall we have seen in a very long time (since late December). The large amounts of snow and strong winds will rapidly load the snowpack. We expect to see a widespread natural avalanche cycle on Friday and these instabilities will probably linger through the weekend and possibly longer. Careful terrain selection will be key this weekend.

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

Winter is back and this should be a great week for backcountry skiing. Temps are forecasted to stay cool to cold for the next week and the snowfall should taper off quickly by Saturday. The only real downside to skiing this week will be the avalanche hazard. Much of this new snow will be falling on either near surface facets, surface hoar or sun crusts, none of which tend to promote good bonding. We will be keeping our terrain a little mellower for the next few days until we can see how well this new snow has bonded to the old surface. We suggest you all do the same. Have fun out there!