Avalanche forecast

East Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Expect natural wet avalanches on steep, sunny slopes. Watch for recent avalanches, rollerballs, and moist snow as indicators. Give yourself options to move to lower-angle and more shaded slopes if wet avalanches become a concern. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    With daytime warming, expect snow surfaces to warm and become moist, especially on southerly aspects. If you observe fresh loose wet slides, it's time to move to lower-angle slopes and more shaded terrain. The most concern for these avalanches may lie on mid-elevation slopes. At low elevations, there may not be enough recent snow on lower elevation slopes to be a problem and the snow at upper elevations may stay cool. 

    (4/4/2023) Wet Loose debris in Trout Creek area Photo: Willie Webster

Avalanche Discussion

On Tuesday, Willie Webster went on an aerial tour of the zone and produced some great images of the current snow cover and recent avalanche activity. Notable was a very large natural slab avalanche on a NNE aspect of Silverstar Mtn and a natural glide avalanche on Hinkhouse Peak. See the photos below.

The zone picked up 4-8" since the 31st. Expect to find more recent snow west of the Cascade crest (such as near Rainy Pass) and less snow east of Mazama. Last Thursday, Willie snowmobiled up to Harts Pass finding some large debris piles to cross over on the way. The road was melting out quickly near Deadhorse Pt. He found a mix of sun crusts on the surface, though higher elevations looked to hold a cold, layered snowpack. We have minimal recent information from Washington Pass with the spring plowing operations just beginning.

Assess conditions as you travel using quick hand pits and test slopes to observe how new snow reacts. Before this recent snowfall, reports are that southern aspects have had supportable crusts, with only due north slopes holding onto cold, dry powder. However, easterly winds last week have also damaged snow surfaces, so expect to find plentiful wind-affect and scoured slopes under the new snow.

Regions covered