Avalanche forecast

West Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Out of date — this forecast expired 7 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

You’ll be dealing with very different conditions depending on whether it rains. In dry and higher locations, firm pillow-like slabs could produce large, scary slides. Where it’s warmer and wetter, watch for snow shedding from trees and rocks above you.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    It's been a windy few days, and many areas reported firm, hard wind slabs. This is a tricky version of this problem to manage. Often, you can easily spot them. They look like the classic fat-drifted slabs. Or you may feel firm, hollow snow that ‘pushes back.’ Even if they are easy to spot, they’re nearly impossible to assess. All our typical tools, like small slopes and uptrack tests, don’t do the job. 

    Unfortunately, avoidance is the only real option. If you choose to travel the slope anyway, just realize it’s more of a risky. The likelihood may not be very high, but if it breaks, it will probably release above you, and hard blocks make escape nearly impossible. 

    You’re most likely to find lingering wind slabs along ridges at the crest and in some of the higher terrain on the volcanoes. Large plumes were seen on Mt Adams and even at Crystal on Saturday.

    (1/10/2026)

    Wind textured surfaces on a fat pillow-like wind slab. 

    Photo: Sam Clairmont

  • Loose Wet

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

    There’s a chance you could see a small wet loose avalanche just due to the warming temperatures, but they’ll be much more likely if rain falls. If you reach for your Gore-Tex coat, this problem should jump up in your mind. Watch for snow bombs falling out of trees and blobs shedding from rocks, which could do plenty of damage on their own. Or, they might just trigger an avalanche on the slope below. 

    If you see fresh rollerballs or small point release slides, expect wet loose avalanches on similar terrain. These slides probably won’t be very large, but wet snow is heavy and dense. Don’t let it carry you somewhere you don’t want to go.

    (1/9/2026)

    Fresh rollerballs from snow sheding from trees on a steep southerly slope. 

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

Avalanche Fatality: On Friday, January 9th, four backcountry skiers were caught and carried by a large avalanche while descending near Longs Pass in the Teanaway River drainage. The slide occurred on an S to SE facing slope at approximately 6200ft. One member of the party was not buried. Another teammate was partially buried but injured. The other two individuals were fully buried. During the initial rescue, the team located one of the buried victims, who did not survive. Despite the group's best efforts, they could not pinpoint the fourth member of their team. The party contacted 911 via a satellite device, and Kittitas County Search and Rescue responded to the area on Friday evening. Additional rescue efforts were postponed until daylight. Search and Rescue then returned to the site on Saturday and were joined by NWAC forecasters. The teams were able to locate the remaining victim. Unfortunately, neither of the fully buried skiers survived. Our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and community of those involved in this avalanche accident.  S-SE aspect, 6200ft, Avg Depth 2ft, HS-AS-R3-D2.5-O

Discussion:

The northern half of the West South zone sits right on the edge of the precipitation. Depending on where it aims, places like Paradise could see plenty of rain, or nearly nothing at all. Either way, it will be mild and windy. If it doesn’t rain, we expect much less (maybe no) wet avalanche activity. 

Saturday was a relatively quiet avalanche day in the West South zone. Winds continued to howl, especially near Crystal Mountain and high on the volcanoes. Nearly unanimously, travelers report wind affected surfaces along ridges and in exposed areas. However, very few avalanches have been reported. Most seemed to occur on Thursday during the initial wind storm. At this point, how much snow is left to blow around? 

If you dig in the snow, we’re mainly worried about the snow over the Jan 3 or possibly 12/24 crust. Dig until you find a prominent stout crust. Other than the wind affected surface, most of the recent snow is right-side-up. A few weak grains were found just above the crust at White Pass and nearby Darland Mountain on Friday. 

Most of our current information is based on areas near the Crest. The volcanoes seem to be tracking closely with these areas, but there’s a bit more uncertainty on the ‘big’ mountains. 

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