Avalanche forecast

Northern Wallowas

Wallowa Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Pockets of lingering wind-drifted snow could be triggered today along exposed ridgelines.  Avoid steep slopes directly below corniced ridgelines to avoid this type of avalanche.  As the sun shines between cloud breaks and the temperatures warm small wet avalanches may become more likely.   Avoid steep slopes where the snow is becoming wet and heavy.  

This forecast is sponsored by La Grande Sno-Drifters Snowmobile Club. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Strong winds out of the south on Wednesday blew new snow into cohesive slabs of snow on leeward aspects below ridgelines.  As the winds backed off that evening, new snow fell with less wind and covered many of these wind slabs with a few inches of snow.  This means the obvious visual clues of wind slabs may be less evident.  Avoid pockets of deeper snow below corniced ridgelines.  

    Yesterday along Wing Ridge, we noted one small natural windslab from Wednesday's wind event.  It was 4-6" deep and ran a couple hundred of feet.  We did not find any other sensitive wind slabs in the area with ski cuts of small test slopes, but it remains possible that lingering pockets of sensitive wind slabs could exist- especially where they sit atop a melt-freeze crust.  

    (3/28/2024)

    D1 natural windslab released below Wing Ridge from Wednesday's wind and snow event. 

    Photo: Wallowa Avalanche Center

  • Loose Wet

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

    We are in the swing of spring and when the sun shines between cloud breaks today, it has a strong influence on the new snow we've received since Monday.  Combined with warming temperatures throughout the day, it will warm the new surface snow and could create small wet loose avalanches this afternoon.  Look for signs of wet loose avalanches such as roller balls and pinwheels releasing naturally from rocky areas on solar aspects.  As the snow becomes wet and heavy under your skis or machine, move to lower-angle terrain or shadier aspects.  While you can expect these loose wet avalanches to stay small today, they can have quite a bit of force and could easily knock you off your feet and push you over cliffs or into a terrain trap such as a gully or bench.  

    D1 Wet Loose Avalanche on East aspect

    Photo: Caleb Merrill

Avalanche Discussion

Mostly stable conditions were found yesterday in the Northern Wallowas.  The fresh coat of white paint is a welcome return to the mountain landscape.  Storm snow in the range of 8-18" sits above a melt-freeze crust that formed during the mid-month warmup.  In pits that I dug yesterday along Shelter Ridge and First Bowl, I did not get any propagation in snowpack tests but did get the storm snow to fail just above the melt-freeze crust within a density change amidst the lower storm snow. 

Continue to monitor the new snow and its interaction with the melt-freeze crust.  Dig down to the crust and see if the new snow is consolidating into more of a cohesive slab.   If you can hold the new snow between your hands and take a bite out of it like a big ol cheeseburger, you've got a slab.  Step above the skin track and push the new snow downhill to see if it is sliding easily onto your skin track.  Be aware that lingering pockets of wind slabs may exist along exposed ridgelines and avoid steep slopes below ridgelines if you suspect they may harbor a windslab underneath new snow since the wind event.  

While becoming increasingly unlikely, the off-chance of triggering a deeper and more destructive avalanche failing on buried persistent weak layers buried 3-4 feet deep around the 2/1 Rain Crust is not totally off the table.  To hedge your bets against this, avoid shallow snowpack areas, especially around rocky convex rollovers. 

Set yourself up for success to have a great day in the mountains by using a conservative mindset, making a travel plan with wide margins, and always utilizing safe travel techniques such as only exposing one rider on slopes at a time, keeping eyes on them, and regrouping in zones that limit your exposure.  

Cornices are big right now and the spring is when they start to become weaker.  They can break further back than you think.   Give cornices a wide berth, and use clues along the ridgelines such as trees and rocks to make sure you have solid ground below you.  

If you are out in the mountains, add value to your avalanche forecast by submitting observations here.  

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