Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

You may see small wet loose avalanches on many sunny slopes as the day heats up. However, I would pay attention and plan on avoiding upper elevation, leeward slopes that appear wind-drifted and textured.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Strong wind speeds are creating slabs of wind drifted snow on leeward terrain features. Wind speeds should stay in the moderate range through the evening hours before relaxing in the morning. So you may still find some reactive slabs at higher elevations which stayed colder and drier over the last 24 hrs. 

    You’ll find these wind slabs lurking on the leeward sides of ridges, under cornices, and below cliff bands. Use visual clues such as blowing snow or wind textured surfaces to help you identify slopes of concern. If the snow you are traveling through increases in depth you are likely moving through a wind slab. Cracks shooting out from your skis or machine are clear indications that you found an unstable slab. Fortunately, this is an easy avalanche problem to navigate around. Just stick to more sheltered slopes out of the wind zone and avoid slopes that appear deeply wind drifted and rounded. 

    (3/11/2023)

    Cracks like this are signs of an unstable slab.

    Cracks up to 20 feet long were produced using uptrack tests near Crystal Mountain on 3/11. This test helps highlight slab instability in the upper snowpack.

    Photo: Dallas Glass

  • Loose Wet

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

    The sun should make an appearance on Tuesday, which may lead to a round of small wet loose avalanches on sunny slopes. Avoid these solar slopes during the heat of the day, especially if you notice rollerballs and pinwheels. These are often indicators telling you that the snow surface is getting wet and weak, and a sign that larger wet loose avalanches may soon follow. 

     

    (12/3/2022)

    Rollerballs like this are signs of the snow surface is becoming wet and weak. 

    Photo: Zack McGill- Cascade Mtn Ascents

Avalanche Discussion

Well the dry and cold snow is a thing of the past. Now you may find a crust or moist snow that extends up to nearly 6000 ft across the zone. Snotel sites picked up 2-4 inches of heavy wet snow and recorded above freezing temperatures up 5900 ft on Monday. Above this elevation you may transition into dry snow avalanche problems and may notice wind slabs to be fresher and more reactive. 

On Monday, I traveled on Gold Hill Ridge in western part of the zone. My partner and I observed a deep snowpack, stubborn wind slabs, and large cornices. You can check out the full observation here. 

In neighboring East Central, as the skies cleared on Saturday, observers saw some very large crowns from natural avalanches above 7000ft on northern aspects in alpine terrain. We are uncertain about the layer these slides ran on. However, they appear to be primarily in wind-loaded, high-elevation, exposed terrain. Older crust layers may be the culprit, so consider the consequences of a very large avalanche and avoid steep wind-loaded terrain at these higher elevations. 

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