East Slopes North

For Sunday, expect cloudy and mild weather with a chance for light precipitation late in the day. You may still be able to trigger small loose avalanches on very steep northerly slopes. Continue to keep your distance from nearby or overhead cornices.

You may be able to trigger small dry loose avalanches on slopes steeper than 40 degrees. Use caution around terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where avalanches could be dangerous. Avoid lingering on or under large cornices. Give them a wide margin as they can break further back onto the ridge than you may expect.

Expect a change from the recent sunny weather. On Sunday, temperatures will be mild, though not as warm as Saturday. Clouds will increase through the day with a chance for light precipitation.

On Monday, I checked out a variety of slopes at Washington Pass in the Hairpin Valley and beyond. We triggered small loose dry avalanches and watched a natural cornice fall. You may find some of these conditions on Sunday. The snowpack is generally strong, deep, and without any layers of concern. In the top 2 feet of the snowpack, I did find a couple of interfaces with strong-over-weak layering. Investigating these interfaces revealed no signs of instability or reasons for concern at the time.  A widespread avalanche cycle occurred in the zone around February 22nd and many crowns and debris piles are still visible. Further east, the snowpack is more shallow and could potentially harbor persistent weak layers, though an avalanche on these layers is unlikely at this time.