Avalanche forecast

East Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 4 years ago.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

Highlights

Avalanche danger is Low in the morning but is expected to increase substantially with sun and warming temperatures by late morning. You can still find dry snow on direct north-facing slopes, but even these may become moist during the day, especially near and below treeline. Start early, and be ready to move away from steep slopes once you observe an increase in loose wet activity, rollerballs, or wet gloppy snow.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Friday marks the beginning of a gradual warming trend, and wet loose avalanches should be expected over the next few days. Avalanche danger should be Low first thing in the morning, but may quickly rise with direct sun and daytime warming. Start early, and stay on colder slopes in an attempt to 'beat the heat', but pay attention to wet, gloppy snow, snow falling out of trees, rollerballs, and loose wet avalanches. 

    Loose wet avalanches could become large in larger terrain features at mid and upper elevations. These slides may also become larger if they begin to gouge into deeper, recent storm layers...but we're not sure when that's going to start happening. Even a small wet loose avalanche could be consequential if it knocks you off your feet and carries you into trees, rocks, over cliffs, or buries you in confined terrain. Cornices could also begin to fail. Give these hazards a wide berth.

    (4/2/2022)

    An example of wet avalanche debris from late March. Silverstar Mtn

    Photo: Public obs

Avalanche Discussion

Areas near Washington Pass picked up another 2-4" by Thursday morning. Josh found 8-12" of recent snow over a crust from the 18th on Silverstar on Thursday, and up to 2ft over the crust from the April 8th. They heard about 5 loose wet avalanches off steep, rocky west-facing slopes before noon with the warming temperatures. Some of these were large (D1.5). No wind slabs were found. Elsewhere, the wind may have formed more significant slabs.

Information and observations have been limited. The North Cascades Highway SR 20 is currently gated at Silverstar, though the road is plowed further west. Until the road opens, WSDOT allows recreational access on the North Cascades Highway near Washington Pass from Friday-Sunday. With road clearing operations underway midweek and other professional operations inactive, your observations are essential. If you're out in the mountains, let us know what you see. 

Regions covered