Avalanche forecast

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Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
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Out of date — this forecast expired 4 years ago.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

While conditions are generally safe, there's a chance that you could trigger small avalanches on very steep slopes at upper elevations. These will be mostly inconsequential except in the most steep, rocky terrain. Roller balls or moist snow surfaces are signs that you may see avalanches on sunny slopes.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Dry

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    You may find enough uncohesive snow that slides easily on steep slopes near and above treeline, especially where it rests on a slick crust. Use small, test slopes to check how easily the snow slides before committing to bigger terrain. These avalanches could be consequential if they push you into terrain traps like cliffs or rocks. 

    Storm totals since the night of the 12th are 4-8" with more snow near and west of Washington Pass and minimal snow below treeline and east of Mazama. The snow fell on a crust formed by sun and warm temperatures followed by rain to almost 7,000ft. While small and unlikely, there's a chance that you could trigger wind slab avalanches above treeline east of Cutthroat creek, where some wind effect has been reported.

    (2/27/2022) An example of a dry loose avalanche from last season. Photo: Josh Hirshberg

Avalanche Discussion

Between February 3 and 8th, almost 2 feet of snow accumulated near Washington Pass. Observers reported a number of large (up to size D3) avalanches in the zone during this time. Crowns were mostly in north through east-facing terrain, below cliff bands or in other wind-loaded terrain. One human-triggered slide near the Lyall Glacier stepped down to a recent interface and broke into a large avalanche on an east aspect at 6,400ft.  Observers near Harts Pass reported a couple of wide avalanches. One was about 2 ft deep and ran on older, faceted snow in the middle of the snowpack where it was relatively shallow (7ft) and weak.

Regions covered