Avalanche forecast

East Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

A warm, sunny day could help the snow heat up around rocks and cliffs. You could see natural wet avalanches as the mountains continue to shed some of their winter coat. Manage your overhead hazard by limiting the time you spend under large rocky avalanche terrain.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    You could encounter both triggered and natural wet avalanches as the snowpack becomes wet and weak. This will be most common near rocks and trees, where the snow can warm quickly. As blobs of snow shed, they could trigger avalanches in the recent snow and run easily on the underlying crust. In general, these slides will be smaller and simple to manage. However, don’t let on surprise you in high-consequence terrain. 

    In a few isolated areas, these smaller slides could start to entrain deeper snow layers, gouge, and grow larger. This could happen where the snowpack is wet, punchy, and lacks the supportable crust. If you see larger wet slides, take a step back; the mountains are starting to shed. Similarly, cornices could collapse or glides release. With all of these springtime avalanches, it’s about paying attention to what’s above you. Look for ways to minimize or even fully avoid being under these very steep and looming snowy features.

    (4/2/2024)

    Example: Roller balls starting near 7400' build into wet loose avalanches. Cornices still cap the ridgelines.

    Photo: Willie Webster

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Higher in the terrain, you’ll eventually find drier, more winter-like snow. Strong winds during the storm likely stripped many slopes and loaded others. Scoured slopes, fresh drifts, and sharp wind lips can help you identify local wind patterns and anticipate where wind slabs could occur. Avoid steep firm wind-loaded areas along ridges, near the base of cliffs, and in the tops of chutes. With such strong winds, you may find wind slabs on convexities and along the sides of gullies, even well below ridgeline. The modest new snow totals should help limit the size of these avalanches, but they could be firm and break above you. Give hard wind slabs a wide berth.

    (1/7/2024)

    Example: Textured surfaces, drifts, and cornices point toward  potential wind slabs.

    Photo: Willie Webster

Avalanche Discussion

This winter storm didn’t produce much for the East North zone. Close to the crest, you might find 4-6in of new snow, but further east, considerably less likely fell. Sunshine on Tuesday probably started the transition for the new snow. Even still, Wednesday looks like a more classic springtime day with lots of sunshine, warm temperatures, light winds, and a few clouds. Dynamic spring conditions can be tricky, and often, the snowpack changes quickly. Give yourself lots of options to adjust to the conditions. 

During this cycle, we’re mainly concerned with the snow over the Early April Crust. The depth varies greatly by location, aspect, and elevation, but it’s often the first significant firm layer below any recent snow. You can still identify other older interfaces/layers in the snowpack in higher elevation shaded terrain. We haven’t seen any avalanches on these layers in quite some time. Even still, the snowpack and mountains haven’t fully transitioned to spring, and there will surely be a few surprises until the mountains shed their winter blanket.

Regions covered