Avalanche forecast

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago.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

Highlights

Sunny skies and variable travel will welcome you on Monday. You’ll likely encounter a thin breakable crust in many areas above 5500 ft, but still watch for fresh pockets of wind-drifted snow. Look for signs of recent loading and instability as you travel. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–3

    Wind slabs are becoming more difficult to trigger, but they’ll sure pack a punch if caught. On Sunday, a couple of very large natural avalanches were observed in heavily wind-loaded areas in upper Clark Canyon and on the Wy’east face. These likely ran during the late evening hours on Saturday as wind speeds and temperatures spiked. 

    These wind slabs will have a different flavor based on your elevation. At lower elevations look for shallower, softer slabs. But, as you climb into middle and upper elevations, you’ll likely start encountering thicker, denser slabs. Look for these slabs on the leeward side of ridges, below cornices, on mid-slope convexities, and beneath rock and cliff bands. Your best mitigation tool will be to use visual clues like blowing snow or textured surfaces to help you identify where the wind has been at work. Shooting cracks under your feet or sled shows you found an unstable slab. You can easily avoid this problem by sticking to more sheltered terrain outside the wind zone. 

    (1/14/2024)

    This large natural avalanche occurred in a heavily drifted area in upper Clark Canyon on a SSW aspect at 7500 ft

    Photo: Mt Hood Meadows Pro Patrol

Avalanche Discussion

We’re expecting another day of inversions on Monday. Look for cold valley temperatures and warmer temperatures (high 20’s) above 5000 ft. A thin, breakable crust should limit wet loose avalanches, but still keep an eye out for sticky surfaces or rollerballs initiating as these are signs that they may soon follow. 

On Sunday,  backcountry travelers expected a bluebird, blower powder day but instead they were greeted with a breakable freezing rain crust glazing the surface above 5500 ft. The crust was most prominent on the south side of the mountain near Timberline and Meadows, but still existed to a lesser extent further east on Gunsight Ridge. The forecast team is unsure how high this crust extends. Below 5500, you can still find cold dry snow thanks to the inversion. Despite the freezing rain crust, the Meadows Pro Patrol still reported a couple of very large natural avalanches just outside of their terrain. We’re unsure what layers these failed on, but it clearly illustrates the potential size of these slabs in heavily loaded areas. 

The 6-8 ft of new snow from this last week sits on a crust buried January 4th that did hold some weak snow on more shaded aspects above 6000 ft. This weak layer was likely responsible for the close call on Pea Gravel Ridge last week when backcountry skiers unintentionally triggered a D 2.5 hard slab (avalanche observation here). We have uncertainty regarding how these old, weak layers are adjusting to the new load. If you do venture to these elevations, make sure to dig down and complete your own assessment. At lower elevations, new snow basically fell on bareground.

If you get out, let us know what you see by submitting a public observation!

Regions covered