East Slopes North

Increasing clouds on Thursday should keep the snowpack “locked up” after a solid overnight freeze and result in minimal avalanche danger. Variable travel conditions continue to take top billing. Plan for extra time to deal with the variety of snow surfaces.

Mostly clear skies Wednesday night should allow any snow that softened during the day to freeze solid. Temperature inversions will once again make it quite frigid in the valleys to start the day. Even with warmer air higher up the mountainside, increasing clouds will likely put an end to any softening before it begins. What are we left with? Generally safe avalanche conditions. 

Even under low danger, if poke around in some of the higher or deeper nooks and crannies of the zone you might find a small isolated wind slab. An observation from Cascade Pass is a great example of a rouge avalanche during these quiet periods. 

The greatest hazard continues to be the variable travel conditions. Observations indicate icy slopes, frozen blocks, breakable crusts, rough textured surfaces, chalky snow, and pockets of recycled powder (facets). Folks seem to find the best conditions on sheltered and shaded aspects. The trick is getting there and back safely. 

It's been over a week since the last notable avalanche activity (1/15). Despite the lack of avalanche concerns, the upper snowpack is quite weak. Surface hoar and near surface facets are common. In some locations a weakening breakable crust caps these sugary grains. You might also still find recent notable interface (1/10 and 1/1) in the upper foot (30cm) of the snowpack. While this isn’t a concern at the moment, it’s worth keeping an eye on how these layers change as we twiddle our thumbs waiting on fresh snow.