Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

Strong winds accompanied the recent snow, and you could still trigger an avalanche in wind-drifted snow near ridgelines and steep rolls on open slopes. Use caution in very steep or consequential terrain, and you should steer around these stiff, textured slabs if you see shooting cracks or other signs of instability. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    On Sunday, observations from the White Pass area indicated significant blowing snow and sensitive small wind slabs. These wind slabs are only slowly gaining strength with cold overnight temperatures. While they will probably be small and isolated to steep terrain features at high elevations, shallow avalanches could still have high consequences in extreme terrain. The most likely places to trigger these avalanches will be in alpine terrain with steep bowls below ridges, confined gullies, and near the base of cliffs. Look for textured surfaces and pillow-like features as visual clues of wind slabs. You can also use quick hand pits to feel for stiff wind-deposited snow over softer snow layers. If stiff snow slides easily in hand pits or you observe cracks shooting away from your skis, boots, or snowmobile, travel on low angle terrain or move to wind-sheltered areas.

    If traveling near the Cascade Crest, along the border of the West South Zone, you may find more snow and larger wind slabs. Check out the West South Forecast for more information. 

    (1/22/2023)

    You may notice shallow instabilities like this on Sunday. Look for wind-stiffened snow, cracking,  or snow sliding easily to help you identify areas of concern. 

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

Avalanche Discussion

By Monday afternoon, temperatures should moderate and warm closer to seasonal norms, near 30°F. These warming temperatures combined with a sunny, clear sky will potentially warm southern aspects enough to produce small wet loose avalanches. Look for signs such as rollerballs and pinwheels as initial clues that wet avalanches are possible. 

On Friday, we traveled under sunny and clear skies in the Ahtanum Meadows area. The sun moistened snow surfaces, but not enough to tip the scales and produce wet avalanches. We also found plenty of wind-effected snow but no wind slab avalanches or other signs of instability. The cold temperatures expected for Saturday night and Sunday will refreeze these moist surfaces, creating a firm crust for the new snow to fall on Saturday. Be sure to take a look at the bonding to this crust before committing to consequential terrain. Even a small avalanche could run far and fast, sweeping you off your feet in those types of conditions.

The MLK crust is approximately 1.5" thick, supportable for boots and snowmobiles. While the 1/4 surface hoar can is buried and obvious beneath this crust, it is unlikely that you could trigger an avalanche on this deeper weak layer. We did identify a layer of weak faceted snow above the MLK crust at higher elevations. However, test results and other observations did not suggest a widespread problem on this layer. We are still tracking it as a potential layer of concern with additional snow.

If you get out into the mountains of the East-South, let us know what you see by submitting a public observation!

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