Lawinenlagebericht

East Slopes South

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

The likelihood of triggering avalanches is trending downwards, but still be alert for avalanche hazards that vary with elevation and time of day.  Steer around steep, start zones with recently formed slabs of wind drifted snow. As the day heats up, head for shadier slopes that hold better riding conditions and less exposure to wet avalanche concerns. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Loose Wet

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

    Expect wet loose instabilities to wake up as the sun heats surfaces on solar slopes. Thursday will be a touch warmer, so we expect more wet loose, especially on those slopes that saw little sun and minimal warming on Wednesday. 

    As the day warms up, be mindful of steep solar slopes. Look for rollerballs and pinwheels shedding as clues of weakening surfaces. While most wet loose should stay small, be cautious around complex terrain in the sun that could produce larger avalanches or where a small sluff could have dire consequences. You can simply reduce your exposure to this problem by sticking to shaded aspects ( N-E), which also hold better riding conditions. 

    (2/26/2025)

    Wet loose avalanches on a sunlit mid-elevation slope at in the White Pass backcountry on Wednesday.

    Photo: Dallas Glass

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Our strong wind event on 2/25 created hard wind slabs across the zone. On Wednesday, observers in the West South and East Central found these slabs to be more stubborn than previous days. While these may be stubborn and harder to trigger, the consequence of triggering a hard slab remains grim and should be treated with a good dose of respect. 

    Approach steep wind wind-loaded terrain with suspicion. Do quick snowpack tests or use small, inconsequential test slopes to test the slab reactivity before committing to steeper riding. Cracking, drum-like surfaces and whumphing collapses are good reasons to head for lower-angled or more sheltered terrain. 

    Additional Discussion: With the warm temperatures, use caution around cornices. These will likely become more weak and able to fail as the day heats up. 

    (2/26/2025)

    An explosive triggered wind slab from Wednesday at Crystal Mountain.

    Photo: Crystal Pro Patrol

Avalanche Discussion

Observations from Tuesday in the neighboring zones report less slab reactivity than past days and some minor wet snow instabilities on sunny aspects. In general, it seems like new snow instabilities are settling out while temperatures continue to rise and promote wet snow avalanche problems.

However, its important to keep in mind that Monday was a far different day with avalanche professionals reporting large, human-triggered wind slabs that broke widely across terrain features in nearby Crystal Mountain areas. Another observer in the East Central also reported a large, natural wind slab release on a NE aspect around 6600 ft (observation here). 

Instabilities may be settling out, but we’re only 3 days out from a significant loading event. Ease into larger terrain slowly with a decent amount of suspicion. 

We could use the observations in the East South. Help add to the forecast by submitting a public obs here. 

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