Avalanche forecast

Northern Wallowas

Wallowa Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
4 · High
Treeline
4 · High
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

A backcountry traveler would be very likely to trigger an avalanche on slopes over 30 degrees today.  New snow slabs 1' thick or greater will be abundant on all aspects.  In sheltered northerly-facing terrain, slabs 2-3' thick may release in weak, old snow, creating a very large slide. Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended. 

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

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

    Rapid change came overnight with 1-1.5' of new snow in both the Northern and Southern Wallowas.   This unstable new snow is widespread and, if you add a slope over 30 degrees and a trigger such as you, it will avalanche.  Through the day of Feb 5th, storm slabs will become less reactive.  

    Snotels have largely reported Light winds with Moderate gusts, but be aware that drifting could create slabs 2-3' thick. 

     

     

    (1/31/2025) Photo: Wallowa Avalanche Center

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–3

    The most likely areas to find weak, faceted snow at the old/new snow interface will be in sheltered northerly facing terrain.   Persistent slabs are notoriously tricky to manage, so avoidance should be your tactic.  There could be a high degree of variability in the old snow surface between adjacent slopes, so careful evaluation will be critical moving forward.   The danger trend for this persistent slab problem is steady.

    The Persistent Slab problem will pose the highest complexity and consequence in the Halfway area of the Southern Wallowas where the greatest snow totals since Friday (25" of settled snow and 2.9" SWE) have overloaded the snowpack. 

     

    (2/1/2025) Photo: Caleb Merrill

Avalanche Discussion

New snow overnight has led to a Storm Slab problem throughout the Wallowas range, making large avalanches likely in many areas.  Expect these to be most sensitive in the morning, but a cooling trend and the passage of hours may decrease their reactivity by tonight.  

The Persistent Slab problem is more of a concern in the Halfway area, where the storm of the last 5 days has deposited the most snow.  Very large avalanches are possible in specific areas.  

  • On shady and wind-sheltered northerly aspects,  new snow avalanches could step down to the buried 10-12" of weak, sugary facets and/or surface hoar, creating a 2-3' thick slab that propagates widely.  
  • On solar aspects, a thick crust exists from multiple melt-freeze cycles during January dry spell.  With mild temperatures recently, new snow from this week has generally bonded well above it.  With almost 3" of SWE water weight now above it, it is unlikely but not impossible to fracture below the crust in old facets, also creating a 2-3' thick avalanche.  

As always, be on the lookout for the freebie signs of unstable snow: recent natural avalanches, shooting cracks, and whumphing of the snowpack.   With a persistent slab problem, the absence of these clues does not mean that a slope is safe to ride, and  careful evaluation should be used moving forward.   If you're not in avalanche terrain, you can't get caught in an avalanche.  

Observations:   Southern/western wallowas on 2/4 from a current and  former forecaster and the Halfway/southern Wallowas on 2/3 from a motorized ambassador.

Add value to your avalanche forecast.  Help us reduce uncertainty.   If you get out today, please submit an observation sharing where you traveled and if you saw avalanches or signs of instability.  

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