Avalanche forecast

Blues

Wallowa Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 5 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Windslabs on steep north, northeast,east, and even southeast facing terrain at and near ridgelines  could still be sensitive  and reactive to the added weight of a recreationalist. Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route finding, and conservative decision making will be required when traveling on the aforementioned wind loaded terrain at or  steeper than 35 degrees. Also be wary of the potential for loose dry avalanches on any terrain at or steeper than 35 degrees on all elevations and aspects.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Lingering windslabs on terrain steeper than 35 degrees at and near ridgelines is still a problem today. The mountains received a heavy dose of snow and wind all week through Friday early evening. The snowpack still needs time to adjust to the loading that occurred throughout the week. Instability exists at and near ridgelines on steep leeward facing slopes. Take a good look at the photo an observer sent us. This natural avalanche initiated at the top of a ridge on a wind loaded steep, leeward facing slope. I believe the photo was taken yesterday and the avalanche occurred sometime Friday. There is no better evidence of snowpack instability than the observance of recent avalanches. This natural avalanche occurred in the Southern Wallowas.

    (1/8/2022)

    This natural avalanche probably occurred during the Friday weather event. The observance of avalanches is the most obvious red flag that instability exists  within the snowpack.

  • Loose Dry

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1

    Be wary today of the possibility of triggering a dry loose avalanche on any terrain steeper than 35 degrees, especially in the Northern Elkhorn mountains. The midweek rain on snow event created a well defined rain crust as high as 7300' at some locations. Where that crust exists, the 4"-8" of light new snow from Friday is poorly bonded to the crust resulting in the potential for easily initiated loose dry avalanches on steep terrain. The potential for loose dry avalanches also exists in the the elevations above the rain crust. A seemingly harmless loose dry avalanche can easily carry an unsuspecting rider into a tree or over a cliff. Choose your terrain carefully and think  about the consequences of the decisions you make while recreating in the mountains today.

Avalanche Discussion

Once again I toured in the Northern Wallowas yesterday. The glaring red flag I observed was the formation of sastrugi on an east facing ridge I was ascending, above 8000' . The northwest wind came up Friday at the end of the day and transported snow onto southeast facing slopes at this location. Therefore I chose to stay off of steep southeast facing slopes above 8000' . See the photo I posted in the media gallery. I observed no other signs of instability during my tour. I dug a snowpit on a steep northeast facing slope at 7300' . The height of snow at this location was almost 9' ! I was able to initiate column failures using moderate force in the upper 12" of the snowpack. The resulting shears were non planar and no propagation was observed. In the Northern Elkhorns where the midweek rain crust is more prominent, our forecasters are seeing moderate failure at the rain crust down 7" from the snow surface (ct13 rp).Thanks to all who sent observations and photos. 

Regions covered