East Slopes South

The East South zone experienced one of its most significant loading events of the season this week. As you head into the mountains, keep your terrain choices dialed back. It may take the snowpack longer than normal to adjust to these new loads.

Some locations of the East South zone received more than a foot of snow over the past few days. This is a significant load for a generally thin and potentially weak snowpack. Strong E-SE winds during the storm like drifted snow into thicker slabs at mid and upper elevations. While the snowpack frequently adjusts quickly to new snow, that may not be the case this week. Adjacent zones to the north (East Central) and west (West South) both show signs of buried persistent weak layers within the upper snowpack. Persistent grains can linger in the snow and allow you to trigger avalanches well after a storm ended. Avalanches on these layers could be surprising, trigger easily, propagate widely, and run quickly. If you dig in the upper few feet of the snowpack look for weak sugary snow sandwiched between thin crusts. These facet-crust combinations could result in large avalanches. If you see weak layers in the snow or experience collapsing please let us know by submitting an observation.

All this new snow may see the sun for the first time on Friday. This weather change often results in natural loose avalanches from steep rocky slopes. If you notice the snow shedding out of the trees or see new rollerballs, anticipate natural point release avalanches. While these slides should stay small, they could harm you if they push you over a cliff or into a creek. 

Cold temperatures allowed snow to accumulate at lower elevations this week. However, in many locations, this snow fell on bare ground. Expect tricky travel down in the forest with plenty of obstacles and shallowly buried objects to block your path. 

During the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, continue to follow the latest guidance from local, state, and federal health officials. Avoid unnecessary risks that could impact first responders and stress medical resources.  Wear a mask when appropriate, practice social distancing, and consider recreating closer to home.