Avalanche forecast

Mount Shasta

Mount Shasta Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago.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

Highlights

New snow and strong winds have increased the avalanche danger. You could trigger an avalanche large enough to bury you in wind-drifted snow. Mitigate your exposure to this hazard by traveling in simple, low angle terrain and watching for shooting cracks or collapsing.  

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    New snow and four days of northwest wind have been busy building wind drifts in avalanche start zones in leeward, east through south through west aspects where wind is likely to deposit snow. In these catchment areas, there will be snow surfaces that appear lens or pillow shaped. This is where you are most likely to trigger an avalanche today.

    Manage this problem by hopping off your sled or stepping out of the skin track to identify wind-drifted snow, avoid avalanche terrain, and look for signs of instability: shooting cracks, collapsing, and blowing snow.

    (1/7/2024)

    Wind Slab

    Photo: Cory Beattie

Avalanche Discussion

Wind slab remains the principal avalanche problem for the forecast area. With that being said, we've been monitoring a weak snow interface located approximately one and a half feet down that has been moderately reactive in stability tests. While we are yet to witness an avalanche on this layer, continued loading from new snow and wind transport will add stress to this layer with an increasing potential of a wind slab avalanche stepping down to this weak layer beneath the December 30th crust.

Yesterday, Eric and I rode in the Green and Gray Butte areas where we found the new snow weakly bonded to the old snow surface. Except for the very tops of ridges near treeline, the new snow was dry and not yet consolidated into a slab. 

There is now enough snow to trigger an avalanche in the Eddy Mountains and on Ash Creek Butte. Despite these areas receiving less snow than Mount Shasta, strong northwest winds have likely been loading start zones on leeward, east, south, and west aspects. 

Regions covered