East Slopes North

Avalanche conditions are generally safe. You may see small rollerballs on sun-exposed slopes and shallow drifts of snow above 6,000ft. Expect another day of cool temperatures and light precipitation. 

There's some potential for moist snow and warming surfaces on southern aspects, though there isn't enough snow for avalanches of consequence. Similarly, you may be able to find very shallow skiffs of drifted snow at the highest elevations. We also don't anticipate that these are thick enough to present a risk of wind slab avalanches. 

On Wednesday, 1-2" of snow accumulated following strong winds. Cooling temperatures have helped the upper snowpack begin to freeze. On Tuesday, WDSOT forecasters and road crews continued their work to clear Highway 20, Washington Pass. They saw natural loose wet avalanches to size D2 on steep rock slabs. They also triggered some smaller wet avalanches with large explosives. Notably, they weren't able to trigger cornices that still loom over sunny slopes.

The snowpack is relatively simple. Warming temperatures in the past week drove wet loose avalanches, creeping higher in the terrain each day. The 3/22 crust is the prominent layer about 1 foot below the surface on high elevation and shaded slopes. On the 31st, observers on Silverstar Mtn assessed the crust and found little concern with it. If you dig about 3 feet below the surface, you can find remnants of old crust/weak layers, though they are no longer a concern for avalanches.