Avalanche forecast

East Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 5 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

By Sunday afternoon, you may be able to trigger small avalanches in freshly drifted snow above treeline. Incoming snow will land on a variety of potentially weak surfaces. Consider challenging travel and the consequences of an uncontrolled fall on icy snow surfaces. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    You may be able to trigger small wind slab avalanches by the end of Sunday. Watch for the wind blowing snow and forming small drifts on leeward sides of ridges. Cracking in recent snow is another sign of the danger. Avalanches will be small and easy to avoid. Steer around drifts on slopes steeper than 35 degrees. You can also stick to ridges, windward aspects, or lower-angled slopes to stay safe.

    There's uncertainty around exactly how much snow will accumulate by the end of Sunday. If you start seeing at least 6 inches of new or drifted snow, use quick tests to check how easily the snow slides. You can use a saw, shovel, or pole to cut test blocks or stomp on undercut slopes. Watch for snow sliding easily at the new/old interface as an indicator that you could trigger an avalanche. 

    (12/29/2021)

    An example of a wind slab avalanche from earlier this season.

    Photo: Will Govus

Avalanche Discussion

Aside from newly building wind slabs, the biggest hazards may be those inherent to mountain travel. A slip on steep, icy slopes could turn into an uncontrolled fall. You can prevent this by planning your route and anticipating places in the terrain that could be an issue. You can also bring equipment like crampons or ski crampons to provide traction.

Observers have been reporting a range of snow surfaces, some that could be weak layers for the incoming snow. The general pattern is that open, northwest through northeast slopes are holding either near-surface facets or in some locations surface hoar. Initial tracking of surface hoar shows it mostly exists low in terrain near the valley bottoms, though there's uncertainty with exact locations. On Wednesday, Simon Trautman and I traveled to Rainy Pass. We found ample evidence of wet avalanches since the 12th and a variety of snow surfaces, including surface hoar in valley bottoms, slick crusts on sun-exposed slopes, and weak facetted snow on the surface of open, shaded slopes. You can see our observation here. With incoming snow, pay attention to the different surfaces it's landing on and how well they are bonding. You can let us know what you see by submitting an observation.

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