Avalanche forecast

Central Cascades

Central Oregon Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

It will remain possible to trigger an avalanche at high elevations on slopes that the wind has blown snow onto.  Over the weekend, Moderate winds above treeline blew snow onto leeward slopes and created pockets of wind slab that could still be triggered by a rider.  If you are unable to observe recent patterns of blowing snow, or assess the potential for Wind Slab avalanches on a specific slope, then stick to low angle terrain, or ride at lower elevations where the snow is probably softer anyway.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    On Saturday and Sunday morning the wind reached at least Moderate speeds up high.  These winds were able to move the lingering soft snow from last week as well as the small amounts of snow that fell on Friday.  Wind Slabs often take a couple of days to stabilize, particularly with the cold overnight temperatures that we've had.  Wind Slabs could be quite hard and could be large enough to bury or injure a rider.  If you are taking advantage of the sunny weather to ride up high, your first tool will be observing which slopes are scoured (windward) and then where the snow has blown too (leeward).  Hand shears, and small column tests like the compression test, are useful for assessing how reactive potential wind slabs could be.

Avalanche Discussion

After the winds of the weekend, some sun today, and then a warmer sunny day tomorrow, we'll have the full variety of surface snow conditions.  Riders will have to put their snow assessment skills to use to find what remains of soft, dry snow.  Low elevation, sunny slopes will likely see minor instabilities from melting, but I don't expect it to be warm enough that we'll have a Wet Loose avalanche problem.

Regions covered