Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired last year. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Some wet snow avalanche activity and cornice shedding are on the table as things start to warm up. Pay attention to your timing and keep your head up for looming overhead hazards. Consider moving off steep slopes if the snow feels sticky and heavy under your equipment. If you plan to get out to more far flung and data poor places, be prepared for different conditions and making your own hazard assessments.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    The weather forecast calls for mostly clear skies and increasing freezing levels up to 8500 ft by the end of the day on Friday. Unless you're on a directly north facing aspect, the snow is probably going to be susceptible to warming and weakening. Expect this wet avalanche problem to be most prominent around middle and upper elevations that have over 6 inches of snow not yet affected by previous warming.

    Wet loose avalanches often occur in steep, sunlit terrain, especially if there are some adjacent cliffs or rocky terrain. The typical progression involves rollerballs and pinwheels that lead to point releases. Once these slides get going, they could run a good ways on an underlying crust. Overhead hazards such as cornices will start to become more of an issue as one warm day turns into two. Give these overhanging chunks of snow a good amount of space if they appear to be drooping, whether you're above or below them. Terrain susceptible to glide cracks may start to make themselves known as well. If you want to avoid this problem entirely, simply stick to well-shaded aspects or lower angle slopes.

    (4/3/2025)

    More recent wet loose avalanches in the Pinapple Pass area.

    Photo: Katie Warren

Avalanche Discussion

Thursday night should see mostly clear skies, which will help cool down the snowpack. Crusts formed overnight will have to break down first before anything starts to move downhill. Lower elevations lack snow coverage in most areas now for there to be avalanche hazard. Be mindful if you're traveling in any area that has managed to hold onto consistent coverage and where glide cracks have formed. Water running along the ground will not stop even if surfaces are refreezing overnight.

An NWAC Forecaster traveled to Darland Mountain on Wednesday to assess conditions. She found 10 inches of recent dry snow at upper elevations and some wind slab instability along ridgelines. Click here to read further.

We lack data on what's going on in more remote places in the zone. If you're taking advantage of this lovely weather to get into some far out or high up places, you may need to do your own snowpack assessments to gauge conditions. There could still be some rogue wind slabs lingering in pockets of high alpine terrain or some slick crusts that you'll need something sharp to navigate safely.

With limited observations this time of the season, there is inherently more uncertainty in our avalanche forecast. You can help reduce that uncertainty by submitting a public observation here or on the AVY mobile app.

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