Lawinenlagebericht

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Fri
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

Fresh slabs will be smaller and more reactive, while older slabs may be more stubborn and potentially larger at upper elevations. With avalanche danger most elevated in the morning hours and upper elevations, choose lower consequence slopes as you ease into the terrain. Steer around actively and recently wind loaded steep slopes.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Wednesday's touchy slabs will become more stubborn to trigger, but they could be large, hard, and widely breaking at upper elevations. Ease into this terrain at this elevation, particularly during the morning hours, choosing supported slopes and less commiting features. At middle elevations, sensitive soft slabs will struggle to gain strength as additional snow and some wind loading keeps them reactive but more localized to the usual suspects: steep, unsupported avalanche start zones, slopes below cornices and windlips, and the lee sides of moraines. There's still plenty of snow available for trasnport. As winds shift from W on Wednesday to SE by Thursday, some previously loaded slopes could begin to erode, forming fresh slabs on the opposite side of ridgelines. When in doubt, safe descent routes are typical available along ridgelines. 

    Use your ascent to evaluate the potential for form or punchy layering beneath the less wind affected layers. With lots of high quality recent cold, low-density snow, it's a great time to enjoy more sheltered terrain. In these areas, there may be enough snow for a storm slab problem. Use quick hand pits or shear tests to evaluate the potential for reactive interfaces that would warrant avoidance of similar slopes steeper than 35 degrees.

    (2/18/2026)

    Shooting crack in stiffer wind slab, undercut by skin track, E aspect, 6,000’ above Timberline. Photo: Ryan Matz

Avalanche Discussion

The snow keeps stacking up! Wednesday was a cold day on Mt Hood with moderate winds accelerating on the east slopes of the mountain and plenty of snow available for transport.

Wind slabs are now a layered patchwork on Mt Hood. Today's 4-5" of snow sits above the 4-5" of less wind affected snow that fell Tuesday, which overlies more wind-redistributed 6-11 inches of low-density snow that fell Sunday and Monday. At elevations up to 5500-6000 ft, you'll likely encounter a thin 2/16 rain crust which may now have around 1.5 ft of snow above it in some areas. An observer at the upper elevations of Ski Bowl (~5000 ft) noted a poor bond to the crust, so it is worth monitoring this interface as snow continues to accumulate and gradually settle into a slab. Ascending into middle elevations, the 2/16 rain crust dissipates and your next crust is likely to be the 2/13 or 2/7 rain crust.

Mt Hood Climbing Rangers encountered touchy, subtle soft slabs at middle elevations and firmer slabs at upper elevations, initiating slabs up to size 1. In both cases, the slab reactivity can be partially attributed to the layer of less wind affected snow from Tuesday. You can read the observation here. This is a similar setup that prolonged reactivity early on 2/9 and 2/10, except that last week, the crust was beneath the weaker layer, serving as a bed surface for propagating the slab. 

In more sheltered terrain around Vista Ridge, observers were able to initiate cracking and suggested that low-density snow totals on Wednesday might be more in the 4-5" range than the 2-4" range that appears on the weather stations. In the Mt Hood Meadows area, winds were pushing into more exposed terrain around the Canyon where Mt Hood Meadows Pro Patrol initiated isolated 8-10" slabs.

Avalanche professionals across the region continue to find weak layers in the upper 1-3 ft of the snowpack from our recent high pressure. As our snowpack becomes increasingly layered, it will be important to take note of any critical observations. Over the last several days we haven't had any reported instabilities involving these older interfaces, but isolated pockets of surface hoar could lurk and a layer of preserved stellars was reactive in some areas over the Presidents' Day weekend. 

We could use the observations as winter finally makes a return. Let us know what you see by submitting an observation here or on the AvyApp.

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