Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago.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

Highlights

Continue to use caution in upper elevation, wind loaded terrain. Wind slabs could break easily in windy, alpine terrain especially if they rest over a crust or weak snow. Pay attention to snow stiffened surfaces, cracking, and blowing snow as you crest into the wind zone. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Strong NW winds built a batch of stiff wind slabs over the weekend. These slabs are likely becoming more stubborn to a human-trigger, but I still wouldn’t trust them in steep, alpine terrain, especially in areas where they may be poorly bonded to an underlying crust. 

    Look for signs of reactivity along test slopes or with the use of snowpack tests. Visually assess the terrain and look for pillowy slabs, textured surfaces, recent cornice formation to help you identify where the wind has been at work. Shooting cracks, hollow-sounding snow, or hard over soft layering are good reasons to dial it back. 

    (1/12/2025) Photo: Joe Dellaporta

    Test slopes produced shooting cracks in wind-loaded terrain on Darland Mountain on Sunday. Look for clues like this to help you identify unstable snow. 

Avalanche Discussion

We pulled the persistent slab avalanche problem earlier this week. You can still find the buried surface hoar on most aspects above 6000 ft in the Ahtanum area, but minimal avalanche activity in over 7 days and improving stability has us thinking that triggering an avalanche on this layer has now trended unlikely. Unlikely doesn’t mean impossible though. So continue to carefully assess the upper snowpack structure before venturing into steeper, avalanche terrain.

High pressure is slowly faceting out the upper snowpack. While this weak snow and a decomposing crust are unlikely to produce avalanches right now, it will be something to track as we start getting precipitation again. 

Warming temperatures and sunlight may reintroduce moist, wet snow surfaces along solar slopes if the surface crust breaks down. If this does occur, pay attention to rollerballs and pinwheels as clues to wet loose avalanches. We don't expect these to be large or impactful, but they are worth considering in steep, consequential terrain where a small sluff could have a less-than-ideal outcome. 

If you get out into the mountains, let us know what you see by submitting a public observation. 

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