Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 5 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Brrrr! Wednesday looks downright frigid in the East South zone! As you head out into the mountains, if you’re going to find an avalanche issue it will be in small pockets of wind-loaded snow. Be leery of smooth pillow-like drifts, especially in high consequence terrain. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    This past weekend’s storm provided just enough snow to blow around and possibly create avalanche concerns in wind-loaded terrain. With the winds blowing from more easterly directions recently, you may encounter slabs in some unusual locations. So, you’ll want to look feature by feature as you travel to see if the slope in front of you may hold a potential wind slab. Textured surfaces and sharp drifts often point towards wind-loaded areas. These new winds slabs should be relatively shallow and small. However, don’t let them catch you off guard if you are riding in high-consequence terrain.

    (2/22/2022)

    A small shooting crack in a wind-loaded pocket near treeline. These are the types of pillow-like drifts than can produce wind slab avalanches. 

    Photo: Shane Robinson

Avalanche Discussion

Wednesday may be one of the coldest days of the winter in the East South zone. You could encounter temperatures near and even below 0F. Make sure you prepare for the arctic temperatures and watch for cold-related injuries. 

The storm over President’s Day weekend didn’t bring much snow to the East South zone. An NWAC forecaster near Rimrock Lake on Tuesday found little more than a dusting of new snow. While more snow may have fallen further north in the American River and Bumping Lake areas, this storm didn’t do much to help the shrinking snowpack. At low elevations, our prolonged spell of dry weather really took its toll on the snow exposing rocks, trees, and bare ground in many areas. Similarly, shallow spots in the snowpack melted back substantially on southerly slopes and near rocky areas. However, the snowpack does increase dramatically as you ascend in elevation on more shaded slopes. In these same areas, you may find a variety of crusts and weak snow layers below the surface. However, at the moment, we don’t expect any avalanche concerns below the most recent storm snow. 

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