Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 4 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

The snowpack is in a spring transition period on all aspects and elevations. A full day of sunshine Tuesday will follow multiple days of above freezing temperatures. Be leery of steep consequential terrain where you find wet punchy snow, and don't linger in areas below cornices.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    The snowpack is pretty beat up and summer-like in all elevation bands and aspects, and should handle another day of heat well. Regardless, you may still encounter areas of unstable wet snow where you could trigger a small avalanche. These slides may not be large enough to bury you but could be consequential if they knock you off your feet and carry you into trees, rocks, or over cliffs. When you find wet surface snow deeper than your ankle, be suspicious of nearby steep slopes. You’re most likely to see these conditions in rocky areas or in terrain receiving direct sunshine. 

    With this spring transition, sometimes snow simply falls down. Cornices can collapse and snow may shed from rocky faces. Obviously, you don’t want to be under these features if it happens. So, pay attention to the terrain above you and don’t linger underneath these potential hazards.

    (3/25/2022)

    Example: Snow shedding from a rocky slope at nearby White Pass Friday.

    This natural wet avalanche occurred mid-day on 3/25 during a period of warm weather and filtered sunshine.  [E 6700']

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

Warm and cloudy weather may cause the snowpack to struggle to freeze again Monday night. This will be the 4th night in a row for some areas. While you may find a breakable crust early, expect wet snow conditions to develop quickly throughout the morning.

The biggest limiting factor for avalanche hazard in the East South zone continues to be the lack of snow. Even where it’s deeper, the upper snowpack above the stout Early March Crust remains shallow. As a result, it's hard for avalanches to gain enough mass to pose much of a danger. Instead, simply gaining access to higher elevation terrain could be your biggest challenge. You may need to use summer roads and trails to get to deeper snow. While most lower elevation and southerly slopes have already gone bare, deeper snowpacks seem to continue to hang on near Bumping Ridge and Mt Aix. If you travel to these locations, know that we have a higher degree of uncertainty about snowpack stability because we have not received any recent observations.

Regions covered