East Slopes North

Triggering avalanches is unlikely. Expect cooling temperatures for Sunday. Check for weak snow around a thin crust about a foot below the surface, especially at upper elevations and east of the Cascade crest.

Temperatures will cool on Sunday after a few days above normal.  There may've been light rain at low elevations on Saturday. On Friday, observers in the Hairpin Valley reported moist snow and rollerballs at mid-elevations, with light rime where surfaces stayed cooler.

Small, natural wind slabs avalanches were reported from upper elevations on December 26th and 27th including a slide in extreme terrain on Pica Peak appears to have stepped down to a deeper layer. These avalanches will now be difficult to trigger.

It's worth keeping in mind that there could be a slight chance for avalanches where recently drifted slabs overly a weak layer/crust combination in the top foot of the snowpack. There've been more signs of instability with a similar snowpack structure in the East Central zone. Even there, the structure isn't directly driving the avalanche hazard. Observers have found weak layers adjacent to crusts in the upper snowpack near Washington Pass. They've found little potential to trigger avalanches where the crusts are thick and the overlying snow is decently bonded. There's uncertainty where the crusts could be thinner and weak layers could be more pronounced, such as at upper elevations and east of the Cascade crest. 

All of this is to say that conditions are generally safe, but there are some things to keep in mind, and be ready to make your own assessments if you travel in areas where we have less information. For an idea of what you might find in you may find in the southern portion of this zone, like mid-Twisp River drainage, check out these observations from the Holden area.