Mt Hood

Unseasonably mild temperatures may melt and destabilize lingering chunks of snow on steep, rocky terrain - so limit your overhead exposure. The December sunshine may soften crusts facing the sun, but other aspects remain firm and very slick at middle and upper elevations. Take the appropriate tools and precautions before crossing a steep, icy slope.

Temperatures have been hovering near or above freezing at ski area elevations since Tuesday. Freezing levels will climb to 11,000 ft and winds should be generally light. Crusts will soften on many aspects and could break down into softer snow at the highest elevations in the terrain.  If you do find yourself punching through the crust, witness rollerballs, or snow shedding off steep rocks or cliffs, limit your overhead exposure to steep slopes receiving the sun's limited energy. While less likely, you may still find isolated pockets of soft snow at the upper elevations of Mt Hood, especially on shady northerly aspects. If you do, look for signs of unstable snow, such as shooting cracks or hollow-sounding snow. 

On much of the upper mountain, the main story has been the firm, thick, and in some places icy surface crust.  A stout rain crust resides on the surface below 7300 ft with a rime crust widespread on the south aspects above this elevation. A public observation from the north side of the mountain on Thursday found something we haven't heard much about lately; dry snow above 7300' on an aspect that was more sheltered from the extreme winds during the last atmospheric river event. A continuation of the pleasant weather may entice you to push higher on the mountain this weekend,  but be ready for technical mountain travel at upper elevations.  Observers ( observation here)  have been reporting rockhard and variable surface conditions in most areas. If you plan to travel at these elevations, be sure to pack the 'sharps kit,' including an ice axe and crampons to help you travel more efficiently and, most importantly, reduce the chance of a long sliding fall. Travel on snow at lower elevations is challenging due to low snow and discontinuous snow cover. 

Observers on the south side of the mountain found that mild temperatures and filtered sun finally softened up the crust on Friday. However, despite Saturday's temperatures rising to 40-50F at 5500-6500 ft, this softening didn't extend above 8000 ft due to moderate winds. 

On Wednesday, forecaster Joe Dellaporta traveled with our new intern observer Koby Yudkin in the Vista Ridge area. They found better travel conditions than what was initially anticipated at lower and middle elevations and bulletproof conditions above treeline. You can read the full observation here. 

If you get up on the mountain, let us know what you see by submitting a public observation.