At around 350 pm, March 19, 2017, a group of three skiers were taking a break near the summit of Ruby Mountain (7408 feet) which is located 3.5 miles south of the North Cascades Highway and about 3 miles east of Diablo Lake. Having already skied a long lap on the upper mountain’s north ...
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Author archives: Dennis
Ruby Mountain: Low Probability-High Consequence
Written by Jeremy Allyn on March 26, 2017 .
Last update on Jan. 11, 2019.
Cornices - don't walk the line!
Written by Robert Hahn on March 14, 2017 .
Last update on Jan. 11, 2019.
On a clear, calm day, ridgelines are favorite resting places for backcountry travelers. Potentially lower angled terrain offers spacious views and a chance to contemplate how to harness gravity on the way down. However, ridge-lines have hazards of their own - cornices!
The National Avalanche Center defines a cornice as "a mass of snow deposited ...
A few comments on the upcoming winter from Mark Moore (retired NWAC director and part-time poet)
Aiieee—it’s a weak La Niña. Run for the hills! Wax up the boards! Wait…there’s no snow on the ground yet. No, Wait again…there is snow but not much. Egad where and how will this season ever start?
Well, if these ...
Summer Snows and Summer work
Written by Dennis D'Amico on June 17, 2016 .
Last update on June 17, 2016.
NWAC has transitioned to limited summer operations, but we wanted to give one last overview of what has happened in the last week weather-wise and talk about projects planned for the summer.
Recent Mountain Weather Summary
NWAC weather stations have picked up roughly 2 to 4 inches of water over the last 8 days with freezing levels averaging around 6000 ...
Winter has arrived for the North Cascades and Olympics
Written by Dennis D'Amico on Nov. 14, 2015 .
Last update on Nov. 16, 2015.
Saturday Afternoon, Nov 14th 2015
The Bottom Line: We don't have detailed information on our developing snowpack and neither do you! Have fun, but ski and ride with early season concerns in mind.
The Bottom Line: We don't have detailed information on our developing snowpack and neither do you! Have fun, but ski and ride with early season concerns in mind.
Photo: Early season slab avalanche on Panorama Dome, Mt. Baker, early Dec 2014
The snow has finally begun to accumulate in ...
Winter is just around the corner! Regular NWAC mountain weather and avalanche forecasts usually begin in mid to late November. For more notes on early season avalanche hazards and Fall NWAC operations, please read the section below.
Climbing Mt. Hood in spring and summer: Will you carry avalanche safety gear?
Written by on May 28, 2015 .
Last update on Oct. 2, 2015.
Guest Post written by Nick Asher, USFS Climbing Ranger on Mt. Hood and Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Patrol
As you offload the Palmer Chairlift at the top of Timberline Ski Area on Mt. Hood to begin your climb, you leave the terrain park and ski race frenzied atmosphere behind and enter a quieter alpine zone ...
Know before you go: Skiing and Riding near highways
Written by on March 23, 2015 .
Last update on March 24, 2015.
Guest Blog Post by John Stimberis, WSDOT Avalanche Supervisor
Each spring
How bad has our winter been if you like snow? Pretty bad.
Written by on Feb. 20, 2015 .
Last update on Feb. 21, 2015.
During this sad snow year, we are tired of watching out for exposed trees, creeks, rocks,
You may have noticed that over the last few months, more of NWAC's weather station data (also called telemetry) has been made available on our website via our new Data Portal http://www.nwac.us/data-portal/, under the Observations drop-down menu.
Where we are and where we're going...
We have always provided the last 10 days of ...