East Slopes Central

Temperatures are forecasted to warm up significantly. However, between cloudy skies and hardly any recent snow, avalanches will remain unlikely. You may see a few rollerballs or tiny wet avalanches in very steep terrain, but the most significant hazard will likely be challenging travel on hard icy surfaces.

Friday will start cold before freezing levels bump up significantly in the afternoon. Not much dry snow exists at most elevations, but you may see rollerballs or small wet loose avalanches in very steep terrain as temperatures warm up. However, cloud cover and maybe a snow flurry or two may limit even these from occurring. 

Weak faceted snow, sometimes overlying thick crusts, has been documented on sheltered northern aspects throughout the zone. With the potential for significant snowfall towards the end of the weekend, it will be important to track these surfaces as they may become buried and create slab avalanche problems. So, if you are out in the mountains, let us know what snow surfaces you find by submitting an observation.

On northerly aspects, you can still find dry snow at elevations above 5800ft. There are reports from neighboring zones of wind slabs overlying weak faceted snow. So if traveling in these alpine areas, be sure to approach new terrain slowly and dig down to identify any weak faceted snow before committing to steep slopes.  Use visual clues such as textured surfaces and cornice formation to identify wind-affected terrain. If you see signs of instability, such as shooting cracks, consider traveling on low-angle routes. Remember that terrain traps such as cliffs, rocks, trees, and open creeks can increase the consequences of even small avalanches. 

Various challenging surface conditions exist, such as slick crusts, frozen reef-like conditions, and thin snow cover at low elevations. Challenging travel will likely remain a significant hazard and create the potential for long uncontrollable slides on steep terrain. Make sure to bring appropriate equipment for these conditions. In addition, the widespread avalanche cycle that occurred throughout the Cascades on the 28th left plenty of large piles of debris to navigate.