Avalanche forecast

Eastside Region

Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired last year.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

Highlights

Start early, finish early. Plan to move away from avalanche terrain by the time wet surface snow becomes unsupportable. Rollerballs, or sinking deeply into slushy mush, are warning signs that wet loose avalanches are again becoming possible as daytime warming occurs. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    After another superficial freeze, crusts will thaw quickly today. Temperatures could be a few degrees cooler, and winds should be stronger, which could help limit instability. 

    Wet Loose avalanches start at a point and entrain more snow as they move downhill. Wet snow is heavy and can be difficult to escape from. With weaker layers in the snowpack getting wet, Wet Loose avalanches can be a trigger for larger slab avalanches that break into deeper, old snow. The best way to manage Wet Loose avalanches is to travel when the snow surface is colder and stronger. Time your trips to avoid crossing on or under very steep slopes in the heat of the day. Move to colder, shadier aspects before the snow surface turns slushy and unsupportable. Rollerballs and pinwheels are obvious warning signs of Wet Loose avalanches.

    (4/11/2025) Photo: Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center

    Avalanche paths continue to produce new Wet Loose avalanches.

Avalanche Discussion

Wet Loose avalanches continue to ooze their way down warming slopes. Paths that ran earlier in the week have produced new avalanches over the past few days. We’re not out of the woods, as the snowpack waits on a solid overnight freeze.

Layers of weak snow buried below the surface have become wet as melt-water has started to drain deeper into the snowpack and pool around crusts. In isolated areas, where a large loose snow avalanche or a falling cornice overloads the slope, a much larger slab avalanche could occur. If you’re planning your day to avoid the more likely event of Wet Loose sluffs, you’re also avoiding the outside chance of a bigger Wet Slab avalanche. 

Give a wide berth to large cornices looming overhead or dangling underfoot. Cooler temperatures and stronger winds have made these white whales less likely to fall on their own, but it’s still worth limiting your exposure to these unpredictable hazards. The sound of rockfall has echoed across some drainages as ice and snow continue to melt. Factor overhead hazards into your plans.

The last daily avalanche forecast of the season will be tomorrow, Sunday, April 13th.

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