Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Another warm and clear day is on tap for the eastern mountains, so look for warming snow and small wet loose slides on solar aspects. At higher elevations, steer around pockets of wind drifted snow that appear rounded or sound hollow.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    The strong March sun and warming temperatures will make the snow surface wet and weak on solar aspects (E-S-W). You’ll likely see these fan shaped slides on steep sunnies,  especially near rocks and cliffs. Consider steering around these areas if you notice rollerballs and pinwheels. These are often precursors of larger loose wet avalanches. This problem will likely be more prominent at those mid-elevations (and higher) that hold soft snow at the surface.  These should stay small, but still consider the consequence if they push you into a terrain trap such as trees or a gully bottom. 

    (11/24/2022)

    Rollerballs like this are often indicators telling you the snow surface is getting weak. 

    Photo: Robert Hahn

  • Wind Slabs

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

    East winds have been at work drifting available soft snow into slabs at mid and upper elevations. Winds have been blowing from several different directions over the last few days, so you may encounter these wind drifted slabs all over the compass. 

    As you travel, be in tune with changing snow depths and texture. You’ll typically find these slabs lurking on the downwind side of ridges, under cornices, below cliff bands, and near the top of chutes/couloirs.

    Fortunately, this is an easy avalanche problem to navigate around. You can use visual clues to help you identify slopes of concern. Look for active loading or slopes that appear textured and fat. Pillow-like slabs or ripples at the snow surface all indicate wind loaded terrain. As always, pump the brakes if you notice shooting cracks under your skis/sled or hear snow that sounds hollow like a drum. 

    As the sun gets stronger, give cornices a wider margin. Warming temperatures are likely making these things weaker and easier to initiate. 

    (12/3/2022)

    A shooting crack in a stiff pocket of wind-drifted snow. Move away from steep wind-loaded slopes if you see signs like this. 

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

East winds are really starting to ramp up across the zone. The next 24 hours should bring more of the same with ample sunshine, mild temperatures, and moderate east winds near ridgetop. As March continues to progress, look for changing conditions. The sun is quite powerful this time of year, so you may notice moist snow forming on more shady aspects as the days heats up.

 You’ll likely find variable travel below 5000’ due to recent warm temperatures. However, you may still find some good riding conditions in more sheltered areas on the north side of the compass. 

On Monday, I traveled to the Gold Hill Ridge area in western part of the East South. 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. 

If you get out into the mountains of the East South, let us know what you see by submitting an observation!

Regions covered