Avalanche forecast

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago.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

Highlights

Despite the clear conditions, pockets of older, unstable wind-stiffened snow may still exist in alpine terrain above 6500 ft. However, as winds start picking up, look for fresher slabs to form on leeward features. Smaller wet avalanches may occur as the sun melts the surface snow near rocky terrain that faces south. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    An uptick in wind speeds may start building fresh slabs at upper elevations. Currently, we have a lot of dry snow sitting around in the alpine, so once winds start ramping up, expect slab formation to occur on leeward features.The older wind slabs that formed from our last loading event earlier this week are healing up and becoming harder to trigger, but not necessarily impossible. 

    You can find these slabs on the downwind side of ridges and canyons, below cornice features, and near the breakover of chutes and couloirs in the alpine. Blowing snow or textured surfaces are clues that can help you locate wind loaded features. Steer around wind-loaded features if you notice signs of instability like shooting cracks, hollow-sounding snow, or active drifting. 

    (2/3/2024)

    Steep, leeward slopes with textured snow like this could be spots where you find wind slabs on Thursday. 

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

  • Loose Wet

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

    The strong March sun will moisten and weaken snow surfaces as the day progresses. Most slopes with a southerly tilt have produced rollerballs and occasional small wet loose avalanches in the past days. With a slight warming trend and sunny skies, look for these to continue on steep SE-W aspects. The first places you’ll typically see activity on will be steep sun exposed features near rock and cliff bands. Rollerballs and pinwheels are precursors to larger wet loose avalanches. You can anticipate this problem by considering your aspect vs. timing of when you might be on any given slope. 

    (3/6/2024)

    Rollerballs  on steep south facing terrain on Gnarl Ridge. Rocky, sunny slopes will be the first places that produce rollerballs and wet loose releases. 

     

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

Avalanche Discussion

Calm, sunny weather has helped the snowpack settle out the past days. Thursday is shaping up to be a rinse and repeat of Wednesday, just with slightly warmer temperatures and an uptick in alpine winds. 

Over the past few days, backcountry travelers and avalanche professionals have been reporting good riding conditions and a strong upper snowpack. Mt Hood Meadows Pro Patrol reported minimal results with control work in their upper elevation terrain on Wednesday.

Its hard to ignore the evidence from last week's avalanche cycle. During the storm cycle, we received multiple reports from the MHM Patrol about two separate, back-to-back D4's that ran well into Heather Canyon. They also reported an artillery-triggered D3 on Monday, March 4th. This avalanche broke 10 ft deep and occurred on a NE aspect at 7300 ft. You can check out the photos in the gallery. Most of these avalanches occurred during the storm cycle from extreme loading, but notably featured wide propagation, which hints at some persistent grain as the culprit. While a human triggering an avalanche on a deeply buried weak layer is unlikely at the current depth - it doesn't mean a large trigger like a cornice or rock/ice fall can't. 

While the new snow is likely settling out, still keep Deep snow immersion/tree wells (SIS) in mind while traveling through forested terrain. Ride with a partner and keep one another within sight.

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