Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

An uptick in winds on Saturday may drift the soft powder into reactive wind slabs. Look for cornices, drifts, and blowing snow to help you identify wind-loaded features you want to avoid. Be extra cautious around big terrain features in the alpine that face northwest through northeast, because they could avalanche to the ground. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    You could encounter two different wind slabs on Friday. Deeper, larger, and scarier slabs could run on weak snow near the ground. These may be most likely to occur on Northwest through Northeast aspects in alpine terrain features. Check for weak, sugary snow near the ground, especially on shaded aspects. If you receive direct 'feedback' such as audible whumphing collapses, then avoid steep slopes nearby. Look for clues like fresh drifts and cornices to help you anticipate where thicker slabs may be. If triggered, a slide could run on the ground, and have grave consequences.

    New shallow, and possibly easier-to-trigger soft slabs may form on Saturday. Fortunately, these small wind slabs will be much simpler to spot. Look for blowing snow and pay attention to the wind direction to figure out where these small avalanches could emerge. They could be relatively harmless, but they could also take you for a ride through rocks or over a cliff.

    (12/1/2022) Rime and wind drifts can help you anticipate wind loaded slopes. Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

Forecaster Katie Warren was out at Darland Mountain on Friday and found an average snowpack depth of about 3ft. Wind had transported snow in sparsely treed areas. She found a thin layer of small facets about 1.5ft down that avalanches could break on. She could also identify weak, sugary snow near the ground at 6,200ft. This is the same layer that is causing persistent slab problems in the East Central zone. At this site, the layering did not appear as much of a problem, but we're still suspect of higher elevation terrain especially facing northwest through northeast. 

This week's storm brought up to 2ft of snow to some locations of the East South zone. For many locations, this doubled the snow depth and dramatically increased opportunities for recreation. While coverage is much better, it's still early season so one should expect rocks and bushes to be just under the surface. With so many things to hit, even a small avalanche could hurt you by carrying you through or into these terrain traps.

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