East Slopes South

Sunshine and warmer temperatures will cause wet loose avalanches and potentially cornice fall on Friday.  Limit your exposure to large avalanche paths, especially where a wet snow avalanche or cornice fall could awaken deeper instabilities in the snowpack.

Following a cold and snowy February that featured several distinct avalanche cycles, the last week has been milder and relatively tame.  Deep slab instabilities above the mid-January crust/facet combo caused very large and even historic avalanches in neighboring zones from late February through the first days of March.   The most recent large-very large natural avalanche observed near the East South zone occurred on March 1st at Spiral Butte just east of White Pass.  We have dropped the Deep Persistent Slab problem in the neighboring zones except for East Central. In the Wenatchee mountains where this interface is closer to 3 feet down (1 m), snowpack tests and isolated reports of whumpfing mean this problem may be unlikely but not done for now. 

In areas of the zone with a shallower snowpack, especially higher elevation start zones with aspects on the northern half of the compass, continue to avoid traveling in or lingering below large avalanche paths.  Cornices have grown large over the last few weeks and could be the right-sized trigger to wake up deeper instabilities.  Make your travel plans with this low-likelihood, high-consequence avalanche problem in mind. Take a look at the media reel or Conditions Blog to get a sense of just how large and destructive these deep slab avalanches can become. 

Following 2-5" of new snow on Wednesday, wet loose avalanches are again possible on steep sunny slopes Friday.  Where you find wet surface snow more than a few inches deep, change aspects or choose lower angle terrain.  Signs of pinwheels or rollerballs releasing below rock faces will tip you off that the odds of a wet loose avalanche have increased on similar slopes.

During the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, continue to follow the latest guidance from local, state, and federal health officials. Avoid unnecessary risks that could impact first responders and stress medical resources.  Wear a mask when appropriate, practice social distancing, and consider recreating closer to home.