Lawinenlagebericht

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Fri
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
2 · Mässig
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist last year abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Warm temperatures will maintain wet avalanche concerns and the threat of cornice failures around Mt. Hood on Thursday.  Let the warming run its course by sticking to lower-angled routes if you find wet, unsupportable surfaces.  Cornices are large, overhanging, and will remain a significant hazard for backcountry travelers. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Loose Wet

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

    A warm Wednesday night and Thursday will set us up well for wet loose avalanche concerns and cornice failures throughout the day.  Freezing levels will push up to 10,000 ft during the overnight hours and stay elevated until precipitation begins to fall later afternoon. This will keep meltwater pumping through the snowpack and should make the recent accumulations sloppy, sticky, and easy to push under skis. While the bulk of the natural activity likely occurred on Wednesday, I suspect these wet loose could still be easy to trigger in steep enough terrain below 8000 ft. Some could grow large in bigger terrain if they start gouging into old wet snow layers.

    Pay attention to fresh rollerballs and your boot penetration as tell-tale signs of wet avalanches. Head for lower-angled options if you notice yourself sinking past your boot top in wet, sloppy snow that resembles oatmeal.

    The ingredients for a wet slab seem lacking, but we can’t fully rule them out, especially after several days without a proper refreeze and wet, weak melt-forms lingering in the snowpack. Any wet slab would be isolated and would require some bad luck, but the dire consequences of these should help you avoid steep, open slopes that lack a supportable crust under recent accumulations. 

    (4/9/2025)

    Rollerballs started shedding on numerous aspects as the sun poked out during the morning hours on Wednesday. Look for signs like this to help you pinpoint where wet snow instabilities are emerging. 

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

Avalanche Discussion

We’re in a classic post-spring storm shed cycle. Since April 7th, weather stations have picked up around 8-12 inches of new snow ( > 1.00 SWE), with higher amounts as you gain elevation. On Wednesday, it warmed up, and backcountry observers reported widespread wet snow instabilities below 7000 ft. They also reported some lingering wind slabs and sensitive, large cornices.

With another warm night on Wednesday, we suspect these wet snow instabilities will carry into Thursday. There may be less natural activity at the surface, but any triggered wet loose avalanche could gouge into old wet layers of snow producing a sizable wet avalanche. Thursday night should offer a more significant refreeze, which should help put these wet avalanche concerns to bed. 

Wind slabs are likely quite stubborn or unreactive after Wednesday, but keep these slabs of drifted snow on your radar if you travel in high-elevation, shaded terrain that could still harbor dry snow. Pay attention to surface texture, cracking, or hollow-sounding pockets to help you identify where slabs lurk.

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