Lawinenlagebericht

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Sun
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
2 · Mässig
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 6 months ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Depending on cloud cover, surface crusts may soften and break down on sunny, steep slopes Saturday.  In areas where the snow becomes wet and mushy, stay out of very steep and extreme terrain, and avoid lingering below overhanging cornices. You may find areas of stiffer wind-drifted snow on the upper mountain where you can still trigger a shallow slab avalanche. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Loose Wet

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–2

    Saturday may disappoint when it comes to softening snow surfaces despite the lighter winds, warm temperatures and high freezing levels.  High clouds are always a tough forecast, but they are forecast for Saturday and may cap the threat of wet loose avalanches. That said, milder overnight temperatures should allow the surface crusts to break down more quickly than on previous days.  Southerly or sunny slopes are unlikely to soften much at upper elevations, given how wind-packed or stripped the snow surface has become.  

    Rollerballs, pinwheels, and wet sluffs fanning out below your feet or machine are obvious clues the snow surface is becoming wet and weak. In some areas, these wet loose avalanches could grow powerful and grow large, given the amount of recent snow Mt Hood has received.   Avoid travel above or below terrain traps where wet loose avalanches may release.  You can always move to shadier aspects without exposure as the warming commences.  Give cornices a large berth when travelling along ridgelines.  

    Small wet loose avalanches and rollerballs in very steep terrain of the Polallie Headwall that likely released midweek. 

    This is the sort of terrain you could get into trouble with quickly even with a small avalanche. 

    Photo: Ryan Matz

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–2

    Textured, firmer wind-affected snow won't be hard to see on the upper mountain after several days of unrelenting wind.  In places on the upper mountain, winds have eroded the surface crust, allowing new wind transport to occur.  Any wind slabs that have developed are likely highly variable across the terrain, firm, and shallow.  

    Continue to use caution when approaching steep open lee slopes with freshly drifted and firmer snow.  Use small test slopes to look for shooting cracks and probe for hollow-sounding snow to help you steer clear of suspect terrain.   Also, avoid thin rocky areas below ridgelines, where you could more easily trigger a wind slab avalanche.   

    Be mindful of slopes with overhanging cornices.  Cornice failures could trigger a larger slab avalanche on the slopes below. 

    (2/26/2026)

    Strong winds on the upper mountain created wind-textured surfaces on the N side of Mt Hood.   

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

Avalanche Discussion

Late this week, wind and sun have blasted the mountain.  NPS Climbing Rangers found that the widespread rain crust formed on Tuesday had eroded from the persistent westerly winds above 7000' while traveling on the NE side of the mountain.  Winds were transporting recent snow on the upper mountain, forming shallow and variable areas of firm wind-deposited snow.  Mt Hood Meadows Pro Patrol tested wind-loaded terrain in their upper bowls on Thursday with explosives and did not produce any new avalanches of note.  On sunny aspects, the same rain crust softened and in some cases broke down at middle and lower elevations, leading to rollerballs and small wet loose avalanches over the last few days (along with a window of corn skiing).   

After a stormy start to the week, visibility cleared on Wednesday, showing several small to large natural slab avalanches at upper elevations (D2.5 in the gallery below) that likely ran during peak storm intensity.  

If you're traveling to the north or east side of the mountain, continue to travel more cautiously, where less is known about the weaker/shallower snowpack.  A well-documented weak layer/crust interface has become a persistent slab avalanche problem just to our north, with scary avalanches triggered daily in the West South zone this week. Last Sunday, forecaster Joe Dellaporta found that this weak layer exists in northeastern locations of Mt Hood, including near Tilly Jane and Cloud Cap (observation here). This weak layer showed the ability to propagate during snowpack tests.  NPS Climbing Rangers found this weak layer interface in a nearby area on Friday, with indicators that the snowpack may be healing over time (see gallery below).  While this layer was easy to identify here, it wasn't as obvious on the south side of the mountain, where the snowpack was generally deeper and stronger over this crust. 

The mountain is looking much more winter-like after the last few storms.  That said, continue to use caution at lower elevations and on thin-coverage aspects.  Allow extra time for stream crossings,  open holes in the snow,  etc in areas with a thin snowpack. 

 Let us know what you see by submitting an observation here or on the AvyApp

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