Archived Avalanche Advisory Note: This is archived for a fatality in the Snoqualmie Pass area. The archives show this for the area, even though it is labelled as West Slopes North. It is unknown whether the same forecast was used for different areas or if the website links are incorrect. West Slopes North - Canadian Border to Skagit River Issued: 6:00 PM PST Wednesday, December 30, 2015 by Garth Ferber NWAC avalanche forecasts apply to backcountry avalanche terrain in the Olympics, Washington Cascades and Mt Hood area. These forecasts do not apply to developed ski areas, avalanche terrain affecting highways and higher terrain on the volcanic peaks above the Cascade crest level. Avalanche Forecast The Bottom Line: A MODERATE danger means human triggered avalanches are possible. Watch mainly for possible wind slab on a variety of aspects and for possible loose wet avalanches on steep solar slopes. Watch out for dangerous tree bombs and stay in sight of your partner. Elevation - Above and Near Treeline - Thursday Moderate - Heightened avalanche conditions on specific terrain features. Evaluate snow and terrain carefully; identify problem features. Elevation - Below Treeline - Thursday Low - Generally safe, watch for unstable snow on isolated terrain features. Avalanche Problems for Thursday Wind Slab Wind slabs can take up to a week to stabilize. They are confined to lee and cross-loaded terrain features and can be avoided by sticking to sheltered or wind scoured areas. Loose Wet Loose wet avalanches occur where water is running through the snowpack, and release at or below the trigger point. Avoid terrain traps such as cliffs, gullies, or tree wells. Exit avalanche terrain when you see pinwheels, roller balls, a slushy surface, or during rain-on-snow events. Forecast Discussion Snowpack Analysis: A cool very snowy storm cycle brought 5-9 feet of snowfall along the west slopes the week ending December 24th. Light additional accumulations in the past week have allowed the snowpack to slowly settle with good skiing. A weak weather system Sunday and Monday helped create some new mostly small and mostly shallow wind slab in many areas. There have been numerous triggered wind slabs the past week but with each passing day the ease of trigger seems to be diminishing. Storm slabs have all but settled and are no longer a problem of note. Storm snow has been gradually settling but remains mostly right side up and continues to offer some excellent conditions. Here are summaries for a couple of the latest reports for the west slopes: A report via the NWAC Observations for Moonlight Bowl on Skyline Ridge at Stevens Pass on Tuesday indicated generally unreactive wind slab and right side up snow on steep north slopes and no signs of instability. NWAC pro observer Lee Lazzara was in the Bagley Lake area near Mt Baker on Tuesday and found a generally right side up snow pack with some wind slab but also lacking a weak layer or interface. Lots of skiers around Bagley Lakes triggered only small loose dry avalanches. A small loose wet was also seen on the south side of Table Mountain. NWAC pro observers Dallas Glass and Ian Nicholson were on Chair Peak at Snoqualmie today and reported that wind slab was a bit more prevalent there than the past couple days. Dallas triggered a small wind slab on a 35-40 degree north slope at about 5500 feet.They saw another skier triggered wind slab on a southwest slope about 600 feet below a ridge. They felt wind slab should be possible there on a variety of slopes and to 1000 feet below ridges. Detailed Forecast for Thursday: Sunny weather should be seen on Thursday. Warmer temperatures should be seen at higher elevations in the north Cascades by Thursday afternoon. Cool temperatures with possible low clouds should be seen in the Cascade passes especially Snoqualmie. This weather should allow older wind slab to continue to slowly settle and stabilize. Wind slab will most likely be found on north to southeast aspects near and above tree line. New wind slab may also be found on west to northwest aspects mainly in the Cascade Passes. Any wind slab avalanches should be confined to surface layers. Watch and test for inverted strong over weak storm snow. The sunny weather and warmer temperatures at higher elevations mainly in the north Cascades should bring the possibility of loose wet avalanches Thursday afternoon on steep solar slopes. Watch for surface wet snow deeper than a few inches, initial roller balls and natural loose wet avalanches on steep solar slopes where snow may shed from rocks or cliffs. A lot of snow has been seen in trees lately along the west slopes. Stay away from trees if you see trees starting to shed snow due to sunny weather on Thursday afternoon. A tree bomb can be just as fatal as an avalanche! There have been snow immersion fatalities in tree wells already this season at Snoqualmie and in Canada. Tree wells may still be lurking so stick near your partner in the trees and maintain visual contact.