East Slopes South

If you encounter an avalanche on Monday, it would be below rocky terrain shedding wet snow, or steep upper elevation slopes on the very western edge of the zone holding small slabs of wind drifted snow. Monitor changing snow and weather conditions as you gain elevation and change aspects. Avalanche danger may be slightly higher closest to the Cascade Crest.

The Bumping Ridge weather station (4600 ft) dropped in temperature and gained 0.4 in of precipitation on Sunday. It's hard to tell if it fell as snow or rain. Whether or not it did, you can use simple observations to check for any instability in the snowpack around the area or other places near the Cascade Crest that may hold fresh snow. Triggering rollerballs or micro avalanches on steep terrain features and punching deeply through moist snow indicate some wet snow hazard. Newly textured surfaces, fresh drifts, and cracking in dry snow indicate wind slab hazard. While wind slabs should not be widespread, small, fresh slabs may have formed on the downwind side of ridgelines or cross-loaded gullies at the highest elevations. The zone is not expected to get additional precipitation on Monday.

The rest of the zone likely doesn't hold enough snow to warrant much avalanche hazard. And after three weeks of high pressure, the snowpack remains highly aspect-dependent. East, south, and west facing slopes host melt-freeze crusts of varying thickness, while northerly aspects are a mix of thin crusts, near-surface facets, and old firm drifts. You might find anywhere from a couple inches to possibly one foot of new snow over old snow surfaces. The upper portion of the snowpack could all be moist now as well. Low elevations and steep sun-exposed terrain remain thin, patchy, or completely melted out.

Observations from this zone would be valuable if you’re getting out—please share what you’re seeing.