Avalanche forecast

Elkhorns

Wallowa Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

North and West winds built fresh wind slabs yesterday. You will most likely find these slabs of wind-deposited snow on east through south-facing slopes above treeline. Look for dune-like formations, textured snow, and smooth hollow sounding drifts. If you see snow like this, go down in elevation or switch aspects to avoid triggering an avalanche.

 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    New snow combined with North and West wind built fresh wind slabs yesterday. Today the wind will switch to the South and West, this will redistribute snow that fell yesterday and potentially build wind slabs on North facing slopes. It's possible to find these wind slabs on other aspects as well, as mountain topography changes the wind.  All aspects have some type of crust than can serve as a bed surface for these avalanches to run on.

    These wind slab avalanches were found yesterday in the Elkhorns, you can read forecaster Tom Guthries's observation here.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    With partly cloudy skies today, there's a good chance the sun will peak through the clouds at some point. When the strong spring sun hits cold snow, wet loose avalanches can happen quickly. The fog that has been lingering in the Blues, Elkhorns, and Northern Wallowas can create a "greenhouse effect" and make snow warm even quicker, despite below-freezing air temperatures.  If you see rollerballs, pinwheels, trees dropping snow, or dripping water, be on the lookout for wet loose avalanches.

Avalanche Discussion

Springtime storms continue to bring new snow and good riding conditions. Snow and weather conditions can change rapidly this time of year with snow turning to rain and sun affecting the slopes. Stay alert to quickly changing conditions. 

Consistent snowfall and temperature variations have created many crusts in the upper snowpack. In between these crusts, the density of snow varies. In some places, the snow between the crusts is still soft and low-density. These "crust sandwiches" can create avalanches. Whumpfing and propagation in Extended Column Tests have been observed on a crust sandwich in the Western Wallowas. This reactive combination has been found near 7100' on Northwest and East aspects. If you experience whumpfing, dig down to investigate what caused the collapse in the snowpack. Whumpfing is a red flag of instability, if you experience whumpfing it is advised to avoid slopes steeper than 30 degrees that are on similar aspects and elevations to where the whumpf occurred. You can watch a video from forecaster Victor McNeil showing this problem here.

 

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