Lawinenlagebericht

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

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

Kernpunkte

Look for the avalanche danger to increase as you move into the wind zone, where shallow fresh slabs of wind-drifted snow exist. Expect these pockets to be larger at upper elevations or closer to the Cascade Crest. Blowing snow and textured drifts should help you identify slopes of concern. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Wind slab depths are gradually increasing in size as new snow trickles in. In most of the zone, these should be small, but they may be a bit larger closer to the Cascade Crest. These slabs will be most prevalent on east facing terrain, but don’t let your guard down on other off-aspects since terrain-driven winds can often create irregular loading. Look for drifting, textured surfaces, and sharp cornices as indicators of nearby wind slabs. You can tweak small test slopes as you travelto help you gauge slab reactivity. 

    Steer around steep wind-loaded start zones, especially if you’re noting obvious signs of instability like shooting cracks or recent avalanches. 

    (3/9/2026) Mt. Hood zone

    You found a wind slab if the new snow is cracking under your feet or machine like this

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

Avalanche Discussion

This westerly flow pattern hasn’t allowed for much accumulation across the eastern Cascades, so much of the avalanche danger is confined to the western reaches of the zone west of Bumping Lake or the Tieton. This will begin to change on Wednesday as heavier precipitation focuses on the southern Cascades, bringing a sharp uptick in avalanche danger.

We are gaining confidence that the older, persistent weak layers are healing. We've been tracking the 2/13 buried surface hoar and facets around the 2/7 crust. An NWAC forecaster traveled to the Pinegrass Ridge area last week and identified these layers about 2 feet below the surface. On west aspects, they produced propagating test results, while on southerly aspects, the layers were gaining strength. The last (and only) known persistent slab avalanches that failed in the East South occurred on February 28th around Darland Mountain. In the nearby East Central zone, snow professionals have reported no notable snowpack test results associated with these layers for the last 3 days. 

NWAC Forecasters produce more accurate avalanche forecasts when the community chips in. Please let us know what you're seeing out there.

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