Avalanche forecast

Central Cascades

Central Oregon Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Triggering an avalanche in wind deposited snow will be possible above treeline in the high alpine terrain on north, east and south facing slopes. This will be unlikely near treeline but still someting to keep an eye on.  Evaluate wind loaded features before dropping into to steep and committing slopes, especially in the high alpine; even small avalanches can lead to long slides on steep sustained slopes. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    Slopes in the direct sun on Thursday warmed up enough to make the surface snow feel heavy and sticky. I did not observe any roller balls or wet loose avalanches. Friday will be warmer with more direct sun and we could see some small wet loose avalanches. I expect wet loose avalanches will be limited to the 4-5" of snow from the last storm. These will be small, but watch for wet slushy snow moving and causing you to loose your edge in steep terrain. Look for rollerballs and pinwheels as precursors to wet loose avalanches. 

  • Loose Dry

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

    A skier triggered wind slab avalanche was reported from above treeline in the high alpine; small (D1) on a southeast facing slope. For the most part, all of the wind slabs I checked out today were nonreacitve near tree line and in the lower alpine. There is quite a lot of variation in the amount of wind loading that occured during the last storm. Some lee slopes had little to no loading while others had up to 18" slabs sitting on the melt freeze crust. 

    With light wind in the forecast on Friday, I don't expect much new wind loading to happen. Use careful evaluation on those pockets of wind slabs in steep terrain for one more day. 

    (4/13/2023)

    I found some wind slabs to be relatively deep (12-18") considering the last storm only dropped 4-5" of snow. Wind slabs I encountered on Thursday were nonreacitve. I observed no cracking and no avalanche activity. 

    Photo: Aaron Hartz

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