Avalanche forecast

East Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

You may still find some lingering wet snow avalanches. But with a slow cooling trend, light snow, and winds, you could trigger avalanches in dry wind-drifted snow at upper elevations. Look for actively blowing snow and pillow-like drifts near ridges to identify and avoid these wind-loaded features. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    As temperatures cool and we slowly transition back to dry snow, winds will drift the new snow into wind slabs near ridges at upper elevations. With just the chance of a few inches of snow in the forecast, we expect most of these avalanches to be shallow. But above about 6000ft, there could also be older, larger wind slabs that formed above the snow/rain line on Saturday and Sunday. The most likely locations to trigger a wind slab will be in alpine terrain near steep, rocky ridgelines and confined gullies. If you see large pillow-like drifts, shooting cracks, or the snow feels hollow beneath you, simply travel on lower-angle slopes or steer around these wind-loaded features

    (4/8/2023)

    Large avalanche from a human triggered cornice fall on Saturday.

    Photo: Mission Ridge Ski Patrol

Avalanche Discussion

It's that time of year when snowpack information from the East North is sparse and injects more uncertainty into our forecast. So if you're out in the mountains, submit an observation and let us know what you see.  

Tuesday isn't going to be the sharp, drastic cooldown we typically see in mid-winter. Much of the expected overnight precipitation may fall as rain before transitioning to snow, leaving the possibility of lingering wet avalanche concerns on Tuesday. The cooler temperatures will likely drastically reduce the wet loose avalanche activity, but steep rocky terrain features may still shed as water continues to drain from the snowpack. While most of these avalanches would be inconsequential, some very steep, smooth rock faces may still have lingering glide avalanche concerns. If you see a big frowning glide crack in the snowpack on steep, smooth terrain, give yourself a wide berth around these unpredictable avalanches. 

Northerly aspects and upper elevations may have harbored weak snow surfaces. Snow that slowly piled up in April may have bonded poorly to this older, weaker snow layer. Heading into this storm cycle, the avalanche conditions and snowpack were closer to what we typically see in mid to late winter. 

On Tuesday, 4/4, Willie Webster took an aerial tour of the zone and produced remarkable images of the current snow cover and recent avalanche activity. Notable were a couple of older avalanches, including a very large natural slab avalanche on a NNE aspect of Silverstar Mtn and a natural glide avalanche on Hinkhouse Peak. On March 30th, Willie reported large debris piles on Harts Pass. The road was melting out quickly near Deadhorse Pt. He found a mix of sun crusts on the surface, though higher elevations looked to hold a cold, layered snowpack. 

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