West Slopes South

Even if the warmer temperatures and filtered sunshine soften some steep southerly slopes, it shouldn’t devolve into any significant wet avalanche hazard. Exposed obstacles and variable snow conditions continue to pose the greatest potential danger.

Unseasonably warm weather and increasing sunshine will be the name of the game Friday. This could help soften some steep sunny slopes, but given the firm surfaces and time of year, it probably won’t amount to any wet loose concerns. Instead, the inch or two of new snow from Thursday could produce a few piles of rollerballs. 

If you’re going to find an avalanche issue, it would probably be at upper elevations, where you might encounter some dry, soft snow lingering from earlier this week. Recent winds may have formed a few isolated wind-loaded pockets in shaded terrain. Watch for smooth pillow-like drifts on exposed ridges and in the tops of chutes. 

On southerly aspects, areas of soft snow could produce small loose wet slides. With so many obstacles to hit, even a tiny avalanche could result in a very rough and dangerous ride. Away from these islands of soft snow, reports from similar terrain on Mt Hood show very firm icy conditions. 

At middle and lower elevations, “variable” sums it up nicely. Breakable crusts, wet, punchy snow, and icy slopes will almost certainly make travel challenging. Add to that plenty of exposed early-season obstacles, and you might expect even simple travel could be more dangerous. Go slow and give yourself a bit of extra time to deal with these “adventurous” travel conditions.