Lawinenlagebericht

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Tue
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
3 · Erheblich
Unterhalb
2 · Mässig
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Kernpunkte

 A storm will begin to stress a uniquely weak upper snowpack across the mountains of the East South on Monday. Consider all steep open slopes as suspect, especially in more wind-loaded areas or closer to the Cascade Crest. Don’t ignore the obvious, like shooting cracks, whumphing, or recent avalanche activity. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Triggering surprising avalanches that break on weak faceted snow or surface hoar will become increasingly more possible as you move into wind-drifted terrain. However, don’t rule out steep, open slopes in more sheltered terrain either, especially further west in the zone where there is enough recent snow over weak structure to cause problems. The photo to the right (or below on the app) from the Crystal Mountain backcountry on Sunday highlights this potential. 

    Monday is shaping up to be a stormy day in the mountains, so start with visual clues like blowing snow, textured drifts, and sharp cornices to help you identify the most problematic areas. In more sheltered terrain, snowpack tests can help you gauge how the new load will react to old snow layers. Shooting cracks, audible whumphs, or recent avalanche are obvious signs that conditions are dangerous. 

    You can greatly reduce your exposure by avoiding all steep wind-loaded slopes. Watch for cornices, ripples, dunes as clear indicators that unstable slabs are lurking. In more sheltered terrain, steer around steep convex rolls on open slopes and in burn areas. 

    (2/22/2026)

    A small, remotely triggered avalanche near Crystal Mountain, failing 14-16" deep on buried surface hoar. Just because you're in the trees doesn't mean you're safe from this problem. 

    Photo: Public Observation

Avalanche Discussion

The incoming storm has introduced the persistent slab avalanche problem into the East South forecast. This storm should be enough new snow to start stressing well-documented weak layers above the 2/7 crust .  So far, most avalanche activity has been small and confined to wind-loaded terrain, but that seems to be changing with more recent accumulations and skier-triggered avalanches now occurring in more sheltered terrain, like this one in the Crystal backcountry on Sunday (observation here). This follows a professional observation highlighting buried surface hoar and facets over a crust nearby (observation here).  We have good verification that this junky setup exists across the East South, but we’ve been lacking enough recent snow to create issues. This should change on Monday, so now is a good time to dial it back and adjust your travel practices to match the unique snowpack conditions that currently exist around the Cascades. 

Travel conditions are improving, but low snow coverage persists at lower elevations, on southerly slopes, and in eastern areas. Allow extra time and watch for exposed hazards hidden by new snow.

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

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