Avalanche forecast

East Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Though avalanche conditions are generally on the mend, a bump in easterly winds may drift more snow and you could still trigger a slab on mid and upper elevation slopes on Friday. Identify steep slopes with textured or fat looking drifts to consider steering around.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    A bump in easterly winds may add to existing slabs and create new ones. Wind slabs have likely become more difficult to initiate, but it wouldn't be impossible to trigger one in the wrong place. Slabs could have formed any of the last few days on a variety of aspects - some could be on unsual slopes where you're not used to seeing them. They’ll be more likely beneath cliff bands, near ridgelines, or wind exposed cross loaded slopes.

    Look for textured surfaces and feel for stiffer snow as you gain elevation. Cracking of the snow surface or fat pillow-like drifts are signs that you’ve found a wind slab, and you should retreat to lower-angled terrain. 

    (12/26/2023)

    A natural wind slab avalanche in steep rocky terrain. Note the cornice line above it. [N-SS-D1-R1-U]

    Photo: Zach Winters

Avalanche Discussion

Small, natural wind slabs have been reported from upper elevations during the week. An interesting slide from Pica Peak on the 26th appears to have stepped down to a deeper layer. This supports community findings of a snowpack with multiple potential weak layers near the surface. There could be a few different weak layers to consider, so err on the side of caution while the snowpack continues to slowly settle. These include layers of buried surface hoar, and faceted grains sandwiched between brittle crusts. You're most likely to find these on W-N-E aspects where the sun hasn't played a role.

As you travel, take note of how the recent snow is bonding with small hand pits and this could be a good time to use compression tests, ECTs and PSTs. 

Deeper in the snowpack, some other crust layers of note include the 12/10 crust (below ~6500ft), and the more prominent 12/7 atmospheric rain crust (below (~8,000ft).

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