Newberry

Regular avalanche forecasts have come to an end for the Newberry National Monument.  It sure wasn't the greatest winter that I've had up in the monument, but I did find good riding more often than I expected throughout the winter.  The snowpack up at Paulina is pretty darn thin and the road has naturally melted out to past the lodge.  Conditions feel at least a month ahead of where they usually are (late March feels like late April of last year).  Avalanches can still occur on steep slopes, and there is even some snow in the forecast for this first week of April.

Most of our spring-time avalanche activity is related to warm temperatures and sunshine, which melt the snow.  This is the same melting that we rely on for soft riding conditions, but when there is too much free water in the snowpack, or very warm temperatures are heating more recently fallen snow, then we start to see Wet avalanches.  Most of these are predictable because we can feel how slushy the surface snow is as we travel (or in the case of warming on newer snow, we can see pinwheels).  It is worth remembering that even small Wet avalanches can be powerful enough to knock a rider off their feet, which can be problematic in terrain where you'd rather not fall.

Often we experience spring snow storms.  If you find yourself riding in conditions that feel more wintry than spring-like, consider those avalanche problems that we associate with winter riding.  Unlike in the Cascades, these spring storms are less likely to drop enough snow at Paulina to produce big avalanche cycles, but it's not out of the question.

We will begin operations for the 2026/27 winter season on December 1.  Please check back for observations during the spring, or during the fall if we are lucky enough for some good early season riding!  The avalanche center also hosts lots of cool events during the pre-season:  Know-Before-You-Go avalanche seminars, the Bend Snow and Avalanche Workshop, "Beacon and Eggs" avalanche rescue class, movies, etc.  Check out our web-site for details.

Thanks to our forecast team and volunteer board of directors.  Thank you to OSSA, the Dodgers, and the crew at Octane for all the support.  Psyched to see everyone next winter, and hoping it'll be better than this last one!