East Slopes Central

Happy New Year! Generally, safe avalanche conditions exist, but we have more uncertainty at upper elevations. So, if you ring in your new year in alpine terrain above 6000ft, watch for signs of instability in isolated pockets of wind-drifted snow. Stick to lower angle slopes if you observe shooting cracks or whumphing collapses. 

We will have a mild start to 2024 with a familiar pattern of valley fog, east flow, and sunny skies at upper elevations. Above the clouds, steep southern aspects may shed a few rollerballs, but we don't expect wet loose avalanches to become a significant problem.

Mission Ridge patrol triggered small wind slabs with explosives on Sunday. These avalanches were 10-16" deep and ran on a weak layer above the mid-December melt-freeze crust in wind-loaded terrain on northerly aspects at upper elevations. We expect these lingering wind slabs to be gaining strength and isolated in their distribution, but we also have limited information at these upper elevations. So, ease into alpine terrain slowly and identify likely wind slab locations using visual clues like cornices, textured surfaces, and pillow-like drifts. Keep your terrain selection conservative if you see cracks shooting away from you or your equipment or hear loud audible collapses. 

NWAC forecasters and observers have found a weak upper snowpack structure near Blewett Pass, Mission Ridge, Dirtyface Mountain, and Holden. The 12/19 crust/facet layer and some buried surface hoar layers have produced unstable snowpack test results. While we are tracking the development of this weak structure, there is no significant avalanche hazard until we receive some additional snow.

The snow cover is still shallow. You may encounter exposed creeks, rocks, and logs at lower and middle elevations. 

If you get out, let us know what you see by submitting a public observation!