East Slopes South

Little to no snow accumulated on the East slopes of the Cascades, and avalanches will be unlikely. The most significant hazard will likely be challenging travel on icy surfaces, so bring appropriate equipment to prevent uncontrollable slides. If you are traveling near the Cascade Crest, you may find a small amount of new snow over the crust and be able to trigger mini wet avalanches on steep sunny slopes. 

As anticipated, not much new snow accumulated on Monday for the East Slopes of the Cascades. However, as you travel closer to the crest, you may find 1-2" of fresh snow over a stout crust from Valentine's Day. With the potential for sun breaks in the forecast, you may be able to trigger tiny wet loose avalanches that slide easily on the crust. Travel cautiously near terrain features such as cliffs or rocks that may increase the consequences of being pushed off your feet. Expect challenging travel over icy surfaces and be prepared to navigate many exposed obstacles and open creeks. Cooler temperatures will likely make surfaces slow to soften in the afternoon so bring appropriate equipment to avoid uncontrollable slides on steep slopes.

On Saturday, forecaster Andrew Kiefer was out in the Ahtanum area of the East South zone and found a strong and stable snowpack. You can read more about the conditions in the observation. Unfortunately, many southern aspects and ridges melted out to bare ground, clear evidence of the recent prolonged warm temperatures. Thankfully valley inversions have preserved some snow at lower elevations, so the riding conditions and groomed trails are still open to travel.