Boletín de aludes

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Peligro de aludes

Tue
Alta montaña
2 · Moderado
Límite del bosque
1 · Débil
Bajo el límite
1 · Débil
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Desactualizado: este boletín caducó 7 months ago. Estás viendo condiciones pasadas, no el boletín vigente.

Lo esencial

Ongoing wind transport will maintain small, reactive pockets of snow at upper elevations. While generally shallow, slabs reaching 6 inches or more above the crust could be enough to knock you off your feet or take you for a ride. Look for these slabs just downwind of wind-swept ridgelines and terrain features.

Problemas de aludes

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alta montaña
    • Límite del bosque
    • Bajo el límite del bosque
    Probabilidad
    Possible
    Tamaño
    1–1.5

    Monday's storm likely arrives cloudy and dry, but with winds. Some slab development likely occurred at upper elevations with 2-3" of incoming snow on Sunday. More moderate-strength WSW winds throughout the next 24 hours will keep those slabs building growing in size and maintaining reactivity. Expect most of the slabs to fail on the 2/1 crust. It's an easy identifier (visually and by feel), a new ground throughout the terrain, so you can gauge the size of the hazard by the depth and cohesion of the surface snow as you scope inconsequential windloaded test slopes. Isolate a column of snow above the crust and use your favorite test see whether it is stubborn or reactive to a hand or shovel shear. Snow that cracks out from your mode of transport is a sign that the surface snow is gaining cohesion and would likely release on a slope 35 degrees or steeper.

    (1/30/2026)

    Example: Beware the slope where the wind drifts significant snow. You can also identify these areas below fresh, sharp cornices.

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

Avalanche Discussion

Mt Hood Meadows picked up 2" of dense snow with 0.28" of water equivalent on Sunday. Mild temperatues in the low to mid 30s limited wind transport at middle elevations, but snow transport and wind slabs likely developed at upper elevations. We have no direct reports from these elevations.

A storm cycle that started Wednesday morning arrived with a warming trend through Friday evening. Cooler temperatures by Sunday morning formed widespread firm crusts throughout the terrain, buried shallowly in most areas as the wet snow arrived. Saturday's reports suggest that the 1/30 rain was the culprit for rain crusts up to 8300 ft with a rime event extending crusts to the summit of Mt Hood.  Saturday featured high clouds and mild temperatures and sunshine, instigating a range of small to large wet loose avalanches destabilizing the 4-8" of snow sitting above the pre-existing crust. Friday featured a round of reactive small (and several large) wind slabs while snow remained cold and dry. See photos in the gallery.

The last 24 hours has seen a drastic change in upper elevation conditions. Friday featured touchy widely propagating wind slabs. Some of these were human-triggered and small. On Saturday, NWAC forecasters saw evidence confirming a natural cycle of small to large wet loose and wind slab avalanches from Friday and Saturday. Most of this avalanche activity ran efficiently and at times over 1000 vertical ft on the Late January Interface crust. See examples of this activity in the gallery. Conditions have changed quickly and we're focusing on new wind slab buildup moving forward.

The 2/1 crust likely caps the aspects that held dry snow as of 1/28 on northerly aspects, but this has not been confirmed at the highest elevations on the north side of Mt Hood. Prior to the storm cycle, a mix of isolated near-surface facets, old firm drifted snow, and decomposing crusts could be found at the time. 

If you head out in the mountains, let us know what you see by submitting a public observation here. 

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