Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 7 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

The likelihood of triggering small avalanches will increase as you climb or ride into wind-exposed terrain, particularly closer to the Cascade Crest. Use caution in big terrain where a small avalanche could knock you off your feet. Travel carefully where the snowpack is thin and continue to expect firm surfaces, especially in scoured terrain. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    A few inches of snow will drift around into thin wind slabs in exposed middle and across upper elevation terrain. While these slabs won’t be that big, they could be reactive to the weight of a backcountry traveler in steep, unsupported terrain. Slabs may form over a variety of surfaces, from slick crusts, old wind-drifted snow, and even some isolated faceted snow in north-facing terrain.

     Look and feel for changes in snow surface texture and hardness. You'll find windward slopes scoured to the old icy surface, and leeward slopes drifted in with softer textured snow. Before climbing or riding in steeper terrain, look for signs of instability using small test slopes and hand pits to see how the new snow is bonding to the old snow surface. Shooting cracks are great reasons to stick to less steep terrain. 

    (1/11/2025)

    Textured surfaces such as these near White Pass are an easy visual clue that the wind has been active and wind slabs could exist on leeward slopes.

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

We have just enough new snow to start building some avalanche hazard in wind-exposed terrain again.  While the majority of new slabs will be small, slab reactivity may vary widely from slope to slope. Go into the day with an assessment approach and dig around once you see more than a few inches of new snow or thicker drifts. Keep in mind that new snow may shallowly cover up rocks and trees that melted out during the January dry-spell. 

As you’d expect, the snowpack is highly aspect-dependent and varies widely in depth and coverage after three weeks of high pressure.  Most aspects that still have snow (E-S-W) have been through a solid melt-freeze cycle for over two weeks now. In these areas, expect a melt-freeze crust that will vary in thickness depending on elevation and aspect. Northerly aspects are a mix of thin, decomposing crusts, near-surface faceted snow, and old firm drifted snow. Low elevations and steep sun-exposed terrain have struggled to build a snowpack and have melted down to bareground or thin, patchy coverage. 

If you head out, we could use the observations in this zone. Let us know what you see by submitting an observation here. 

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