Avalanche forecast

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
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Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago.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

You can still find dangerous avalanche conditions in wind-loaded, alpine terrain above 6500 ft. Wind slabs breaking 1-3 ft deep on a weak layer remains a concerning possibility, especially on more shaded N-E aspects. Don’t run your normal playbook and approach steep terrain with some extra space and suspicion. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Low density new snow and moderate wind speeds have built wind slabs ranging in flavor depending on your elevation and aspect. We suspect most slabs will be on the softer side, but that may not be the case as you crest above 6000 ft. At these elevations, a few inches of new snow may effectively camouflage the stiffer, more stubborn hard slabs that formed during our strong winds over the weekend. In some cases, these slabs may even lurk on mid-slope convexities or just further down slope than you may anticipate. You’ll want to use visual clues like cornices and rippled, stiffened surfaces to help you identify where the wind has drifted snow. 

    While less likely, wind slabs could break in surprising ways if they fail facets from our January drought. This set-up would be most concerning on N-E aspects where the January drought crust is thinner and more fragile. Due to this, your standard hand pits or ski cuts may not paint the full picture. To deal with this uncertainty the best strategy will be to avoid wind loaded slopes over 30 degrees, especially on these more shaded aspects. 

    (2/1/2025)

    Blowing snow, fresh drifts, sharp cornices, and rime all point towards wind loading along this ridgeline. 

    Photo: Dallas Glass

  • Loose Dry

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    Low-density snow is stacking up around Hood and expect this fluff to move on steep rollovers and gullies.  Dry Loose avalanches often start at a point and entrain more snow as they fan out and move downhill. You can deal with this problem with sluff management or by steering around steep rollovers and gully features. 

Avalanche Discussion

The low density snow just keeps stacking up around Mt. Hood! So far, the Mt. Hood Meadows weather station has picked up 18 inches and over 2 inches of snow water equivalent since the storm has commenced. The storm started warm and cooled as it piled up, making for blower powder riding in more sheltered terrain. 

While the snow is exceptionally good right now, it's not our typical snowpack that we’re used to around Mt Hood. The January Drought Layer (JDL) is a crust with varying thicknesses that harbors a thick layer of facets just beneath and sometimes above. So far, observers have been finding this facet/crust combo to be most concerning on N-E aspects at middle elevations where the crust is thinner and more fragile. 

We haven’t observed any confirmed avalanches on this layer yet, but we have seen propagating test results  (observation/ observation) and whumping collapses on northerly aspects near Bennett Pass (observation). These types of observations hint at deeper instabilities and should help shape your terrain selection as you crest into more wind loaded features on more shaded aspects. 

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