Mt Hood

Sliding falls will be your primary concern on most aspects when you are on a long, steep slope. Make sure you have the appropriate tools and know how to use them. A much-anticipated storm will dramatically increase avalanche danger for Friday and the weekend.

Temperatures will cool on Thursday even as freezing levels stay elevated. Increasing ridgeline winds and high clouds will make icy surfaces your primary concern on most slopes. Falls on thick, slick crusts are difficult to arrest and can be long and even life-threatening. Remember it doesn’t take much shade for surfaces to flash-freeze at the end of a January day. Having crampons, an ice axe, and the ability to use this gear properly will be absolutely necessary to navigate safely in our terrain.

In sheltered terrain receiving sunshine at lower elevations, snow surfaces are likely to soften and become pushy on steep slopes. While we don't anticipate this becoming a problem, it's a good idea to adjust your aspect or slope angle if you find more than 6" of poorly consolidated wet slush.

We're tracking snow surfaces ahead of an incoming storm cycle Thursday night into the weekend. While not a problem right now, the upper snowpack continues to weaken during this prolonged period of high pressure. 

NWAC forecasters visited the north side of Mt Hood on Wednesday and found that the snowpack increases significantly in the 2500-3000 ft range. Between 3000-4000 ft, they found well developed surface hoar (up to 8 mm) over facets. A thin decomposing crust under the first facet layer separated a second layer of facets. Ultimately, challenging snow machine travel prevented them from reaching higher in the terrain. Another observer on the northwest side of Mt Hood also found 4" of sugary faceting snow above a crust on NE aspects at 3500 ft near Lolo Pass on Wednesday. Notable takeaways are that the snowpack on the north side of the mountain is significantly weaker than on the south side, and snow exists at lower elevations. On the south side of the mountain, weak snow still exists in shaded pockets and in sheltered valleys, but generally exists under under a thin melt-freeze crust. This structure is not currently an issue in most places, but it could be a different story starting Friday. In more exposed terrain, snow surfaces vary widely between slick crusts, old wind-drifted snow, and sastrugi. In exposed upper-elevation terrain on the north side of Mt Hood, scoured slopes are widespread, with pockets of softer snow.  

As this pattern continues, keep the following in mind as well:

• Triggering a wind slab is unlikely, but not impossible. On Saturday, forecasters observed the strong NE winds drifting snow onto the upper mountain, west aspects like the  Sandy Headwall and the Reid Glacier. Moderate to strong winds were reported at Mt Hood Meadows on Tuesday morning. And light to moderate winds are expected once again on Wednesday. If you find yourself traveling at the highest elevations, still be on the lookout for wind-stiffened slabs. Surface clues like softer pockets of snow overlying firm crusts, ripples, and dunes can help you anticipate where wind slabs may lurk. 
• Continue to use normal caution and best-practice backcountry travel techniques. Carry avalanche rescue gear and only expose one rider or climber at a time to steep, complex terrain. 

Your observations are especially critical to us as we enter a storm cycle with plenty of weak snow surfaces out there. You can submit your observation here.