Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

New snow and wind will continue to build unstable slabs in wind-exposed middle and upper-elevation terrain. These 1-2 foot thick wind slabs may trigger easily and break widely if they fail on weak, faceted snow over a crust. Steer away from steep, wind-loaded slopes on Monday. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Another dose of new snow and wind will continue to build wind slabs across exposed terrain in the East South. Some of these slabs could break 1-2’ thick and propagate across terrain features if they fail on weak snow resting over a crust. Trickles of new snow will increase the sensitivity of these slabs, so use caution as you climb or ride higher into the wind zone. 

    These wind slabs will be most prominent on leeward sides of ridges, below cornices, or mid-slope convexities. Look and feel for changes in snow depth and hardness. Drifts, dunes, rippled snow surfaces, and chalky snow pillows are visible clues that the wind has been at work. Don’t ignore obvious signs of instability like shooting cracks or audible whumphs under your feet or machine.

    (12/15/2024)

    Snow cracking and slabbing off under your skis or machine are clear signs you found an unstable slab.  

    . Photo: Ryan Minton

Avalanche Discussion

Its been an active week across the East South. The zone picked up 3-8 inches of new snow by Sunday morning, with the most recorded near Bumping Lake. We’re in for another system that arrives Sunday evening into Monday, which should deliver another trickle of new snow (3-6 inches)  and a good dose of wind. These incremental loads will continue to test our snowpack in the next days, so be flexible with your plan and look for signs of instability as you travel. 

There’s been a fair amount of notable avalanche activity in the past days just to the west of the East South in the Crystal backcountry. Backcountry travelers and avalanche professionals reported triggering widely propagating avalanches that broke 1-2 ft deep (observation) on Saturday and some smaller soft slabs failing witin the new snow  (observation). While these reported avalanches are technically in the West South, they aren’t all that far away from popular spots in the East South. You may find similar avalanche conditions in areas that received more new snow closer to the Cascade Crest. 

NWAC Forecaster Payton Schiff traveled into the Darland Mtn area on Sunday. She found about 15 inches of low-density new snow resting over the weakening 12/7 crust that harbors some near-crust facets. While most areas she traveled still lacked slab-like characteristics, she did find signs of wind loading near the ridgeline which are likely locations that could hold an avalanche problem. Check out her observation here. 

If you get out, let us know what you see by submitting a public observation!

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