East Slopes Central

Thursday should be a nice wintry day. A little increase in winds may drift the newer snow into shallow pockets of wind slab in the alpine. Rollerballs and small wet loose slides may occur on slopes that face the sun.

You're likely to find 3-5" of new snow over the recent crust at mid and upper elevations with more the higher you go. The day brings a slight uptick in winds, so you might find a small amount of drifting. Shallow pockets of wind slab may become reactive if drifting occurs. These are likely to remain small but if you find drifts deeper than 6 or 8" consider identifying steep areas to steer around. Observers have been finding surface hoar over the early February crust, including myself on Tuesday at Blewett Pass. It was difficult to identify, but the feel of slipperyness over the crust beneath a few inches of new snow was a hint that it was there (see photo below). Any new wind slabs that do form could become reactive with potential for buried surface hoar or facets over the crust. Check out another observation from the Wenatchee Mountains where they found collapsing of the new snow on the crust. 

Its February, so if the sun is out, expect snow surfaces to warm during the daytime. Keep an eye out for snow becoming moist and sticky during the day. Rollerballs could lead to small wet loose slides on steep enough slopes. Slick crusts, avalanche debris, open creeks, and thin coverage could add challenges to your mountain travel. Make sure to bring appropriate equipment for these conditions.

An avalanche cycle from prolonged warm weather and rain or high elevation snow lasted from January 21st through February 1st. We are still observing debris from this event. On January 28-30th, many natural and skier-triggered, very large avalanches (D2.5-3) were reported throughout the zone and in neighboring zones. Slides on Big Chiwaukum Mtn and Tumwater Canyon ran to the ground (see photos below). Forecasters at the Holden Mine reported natural wet slab and wet loose avalanches to size D3 on the 27th and 28th. If you find evidence of a large or very large avalanche that we haven't logged in our avalanche observations, take a photo and let us know by submitting a public observation!