Avalanche forecast

Blues

Wallowa Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 4 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

No overnight freeze last night and forecasted temperatures to be above freezing today. Expect loose wet avalanche activity all aspects and elevations on slopes steeper than 35 degrees by late this morning lasting throughout the day. Sinking up to your boot tops and the observance of fresh pinwheels and rollerballs on the snow surface are red flag signs that the snow is becoming unstable. When these red flags  are observed, it is time to get off and out from under terrain steeper than 35 degrees.

Forecast presented by @onxbackcountry. onX Backcountry is a GPS navigation and mapping tool designed with your backcountry objectives in mind, equipped with Avalanche Forecast and Slope Angle layers, Offline Maps and more.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1

    In my travels in the Blue and Elkhorn mountains the last couple of days the weather has been above freezing and the snow surface has been wet and soggy. I have observed wet loose avalanche activity at all aspects and elevations on terrain steeper than 35 degrees. Weather conditions for today are forecasted to be well above freezing, similar to the last couple of days. Expect to see more wet loose avalanche activity today as early as late this morning and lasting throughout the day. Fresh rollerballs and pinwheels on the snow surface are signs that the snow is becoming unstable. Another sign of instability is sinking into the snow up to your boot tops. This process will be accelerated if the sun comes out, like it has the last couple of days. When you start observing these red flags, it is time to get off of and out from under slopes steeper than 35 degrees.

    (3/25/2022)

    By early afternoon yesterday the clouds had mostly gone away. The presence of the sun and the corresponding rise in temperatures quickly created instability at the snow surface making it very easy to trigger loose wet avalanche activity. In this photo I made a ski cut on a small/steep terrain feature and easily trigger roller balls and pin wheels. Definitely time to head for the barn.

    Photo: TG

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    Above freezing temperatures all day yesterday and through the night will contribute to thawing and weakening of cornices that exist at ridgelines. These warm temperatures could easily cause a cornice to break under the weight of a human. When traveling ridgelines today, stay well back from slope edges unless you are sure you are not traveling on a cornice. Cornices can break further back than you might expect.

    (3/17/2022)

    Cornices on east facing terrain at about 8400' .

    Photo: TG

  • Wet Slabs

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

    Poor snowpack structure continues to plague the upper part of our snowpack. Several crust layers exist in the upper snowpack sandwiched between soft weak layers of snow. As the temperatures warm today, melt water will percolate down through the snow and pool on top of one or more of these crust layers. This layer of pooled water will continue to compromise the the bonds that exist at the affected interface eventually causing the tenuous bond to fail. The result could be a natural or skier triggered wet slab avalanche on terrain steeper than 35 degrees. Once again, when you start to observe red flag signs of slope instability, it is time time to vacate slopes steeper than 35 degrees and head for lower angle slopes or back to the trailhead.

    (3/26/2022)

    This snowpit was excavated on Saturday March 26 and highlights the crust weak/layer problems we have been talking about since early January. Above freezing temperatures are with us presently and forecasted to hang around until Wednesday night. In addition, up to a quarter inch of rain is forecasted to fall Monday adding more water weight and free water onto the already drenched upper snowpack. This water in the upper snowpack will percolate down to a crust layer where it will pool and spread out on the crust. This pool of water will compromise the bond between the crust and the soft slab that rests upon the crust layer. On slopes steeper than 35 degrees, the end  result could be a natural or human triggered slab avalanche.

    Photo: TG

Regions covered