East Slopes South

Even with softening and warming surfaces on sun-exposed slopes that still hold snow, avalanches remain unlikely. Carry sharp self-arresting equipment for traveling over hard, icy surfaces. Additionally, low snow coverage has made recreation challenging. Come prepared for it all with good travel techniques.

Fog and low clouds cleared out of the entire zone on Saturday. A lot of low elevation slopes saw sunshine for the first time since the start of this stubbornly dry weather two weeks ago. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, these slopes lacked much snow to begin with, so avalanche hazard was not significantly affected by this change.

Sunday will be another day of status quo with dry weather and minimal avalanche hazard, although high clouds will start moving in in the afternoon. Maybe a glob of snow could fall from a cliff or sagging cornice overhead. Nonetheless, remember that the mountains are inherently risky places. Dangerously slick melt freeze crusts are widespread throughout the zone. Bumpy runnels and ice are common, too. A long, uncontrolled fall could go from bad to worse if you run into rocks, cliffs, trees, or creeks. Such incidents have been reported in the Cascades over the past week. Stack the odds in your favor by carrying something sharp to arrest a fall and know how to use it: ski/boot crampons, whippets, ice axes, etc. For you sledders, studded tracks maybe?

Alternatively, the snowpack on shaded terrain is softening as it transforms into large, weaker grains known as facets. An NWAC Forecaster traveling in the zone on Wednesday found both near-surface and near-crust faceting snow in the upper portion of the snowpack on a northwest aspect. Surface hoar formation is also extensive. Accounts from the nearby East Central zone have similar findings. While this doesn't really mean anything right now - other than you can find improved skiing and riding on these slopes - these layers could become problematic once buried. We are finally staring down the possibility of active weather and precipitation next week.

The already meager snowpack has suffered for the last couple of weeks. There is very little snow across lower elevations and steep south-facing and windward terrain. You’ll find a more meaningful snowpack ranging from 2-3 ft as you move onto north and east aspects. Plan ahead for challenging travel and keep a watchful eye out for exposed obstacles and open creeks.

While low avalanche danger exists, continue to practice safe travel rituals, such as exposing only one person to steep terrain at a time and carrying a functioning avalanche transceiver, shovel, and probe. This could even be a great time to practice rescue with those pieces of equipment if you haven't yet this season!