Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

If you poke around some of the higher peaks or rocky terrain, you might find an isolated pocket of wind-drifted snow. Any avalanche should be small, but it could carry you over a cliff or into rocks. Be leery of firmer pillow-like slabs, especially in high-consequence terrain.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    You might see plenty of signs of wind transported snow, but actual wind slabs should be few and far between. Keep an eye out for textured surfaces or deeper deposits along high exposed ridges, in the tops of chutes, or along the base of cliffs. While these potential avalanches don’t pose much threat on their own, they could still knock you off your feet in very steep terrain. With so many obstacles to hit, even a tiny avalanche could result in an unforgiving ride.

    (11/27/2024)

    Example of an isolated wind slab int he nearby East Central Zone.

    The crown of a small, human triggered wind slab avalanche in the Enchantments on Thanksgiving.

    Photo: Lucas Ng

Avalanche Discussion

A warm sunny November day should allow for generally safe avalanche conditions on Saturday. Even still, a small skier-triggered wind slab on Thursday in the nearby East Central zone highlights the kind of isolated wind slab issues that keep that problem in the forecast. 

It’s still early season, and we don’t have a lot of information about the snowpack across the zone. A few excellent observations from the East South emphasize the generally thin and variable early-season snow depths. The last major storm hit the Bumping Lake and Nelson Range areas pretty hard. In these locations, you might find more snow than in the Tieton and Ahtanum Meadows regions. If nearby zones are any clue, the surface snow remains soft and loose on most slopes. Only those facing directly into the sun have formed a thin crust.  

Regardless of elevation, numerous obstacles still exist. Rocks, logs, bushes, and creeks all make travel a bit more challenging. Give yourself some extra time to navigate all these potential hazards. 

We’ve had a few days of sunny weather, but things will start to warm up Saturday afternoon. You could see a few rollerballs or small loose avalanches fall off rocky faces. These tiny slides shouldn’t amount to much of a hazard unless you’re in extreme terrain. However, on Sunday the heat really turns up. This will be a big change for the snowpack. At the moment, it’s hard to say exactly how that will play out. 

Regions covered