Avalanche forecast

East Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 4 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

You may encounter very different snow and avalanche conditions depending on aspect, elevation, and time of day. Be ready to adjust as things change, including dialing it back if slopes become more dangerous than expected.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    Often, recent snow plus sunshine and warm temperatures equals wet loose slides. That’s a good bet for Friday too, but periods of sunshine and gradually warming temperatures from the past few days may have taken the shock out of this transition. A crust at the surface will need to break down before this problem develops. Then you may push piles of wet snow on very steep and sunny slopes. These slides should be easy to anticipate, but don’t let one grab and drag you into places you were hoping to avoid. Small natural avalanches are also possible, particularly below cliffs and confined chutes. 

    If things get really warm, you may see larger natural slides entraining significant amounts of recent snow. This is a different beast altogether. At this point, the scales are tipping, and it's time to get away from similar terrain. These slides would most likely be found on large, rocky, complex slopes that receive plenty of direct sunshine.

    (4/15/2026)

    Natural loose avalanches on the SW aspect of Whistler Peak. 

    Photo: WSDOT NCR

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    Blustery winds formed fresh slabs on Thursday, especially in more alpine terrain. WSDOT found plenty of visual evidence of wind transported snow and nearby slabs. Use clues like textured surfaces, drifts, and sharp cornices to highlight likely loaded slopes. While slabs often form near ridges and in the tops of chutes, you may also find them along the slides of mid-slope gullies and other exposed features. 

    It may be tough to tell if these slabs will break or stay in place. There aren’t easy tests to give us the answer. Stick to less wind affected or lower angled slopes to get around these fresh slabs and enjoy the nearby soft snow.

    (4/16/2026)

    Fresh wind lips, a tiny slab, and textured surfaces. Use visual clues to identify wind loaded slopes. 

    Photo: WSDOT NCR

Avalanche Discussion

The weather this week has been very… all over the place. Wintery, spring-like, windy, sunny, cold, warm. You get the idea. This often results in variable conditions, especially depending on where you are in the zone, and even from one slope to the next. This week’s storm brought more than a foot of snow to areas near the Cascade crest. Snow totals drop quickly as you travel east. Expect smaller avalanches and lower danger in these locations. 

The new snow accumulated over the stout 4/14 crust. However, WSDOT crews found the new snow was generally well bonded to the underlying crust. Stronger winds on Thursday likely added to this variability, redistributing the snow onto different aspects and features. 

While the fresh coat of paint (snow) certainly helped travel conditions, coverage remains very thin, especially at lower elevations and on more southerly aspects. However, at higher elevation and in shaded terrain, the mountains feel very wintery. 

Regions covered