Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 6 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

The snowpack may feel stable, but triggering a wide avalanche that breaks 1-3 feet deep remains a concerning possibility. Warning signs like collapsing and recent avalanches are becoming less common, which makes this problem trickier to access. You can reduce your odds of finding trouble by sticking to slopes under 30 degrees, especially as you gain elevation into windier terrain. 

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Recent strong winds and light accumulations have built shallow slabs along ridgelines and these could be prime locations to trigger larger persistent slab avalanches. Triggering a large avalanche in more sheltered terrain is becoming more difficult, but not impossible. 

    The likelihood of triggering one of these large avalanches that break 1-3 feet deep on buried surface hoar or facets above the 2/7 crust has gradually decreased this past week. Our last known avalanche that failed on this persistent weak layer occurred on 2/28 on Darland Mountain (observation here). 

    We’re getting to a point where you may or may not receive any signs of instability before triggering a large, potentially unsurvivable avalanche. Just because there are tracks on a slope, it doesn't mean it's safe. The best way you can reduce your exposure to this tricky problem is to avoid steep open slopes greater than 30 degrees, especially where the wind has formed deeper drifts, such as beneath ridgelines or in rocky terrain.

    (3/1/2026)

    Snow machine triggered large (D2) persistent slab and self extricated on 2/28. Darland Mt. NE aspect, 6700 ft.

    HS- AMu-R2-D2-O @ NE, 6700' Photo: Northwest Avalanche Center

Avalanche Discussion

An NWAC forecaster traveled to the Pinegrass Ridge area on Wednesday and observed 1–2 inches of new snow and a thin, breakable crust on sun-exposed slopes. She identified weak layers from the January drought about 2 feet below the surface that produced propagating test results on west aspects. On southerly aspects, she found these weak layers gaining strength. 

The last known persistent slab avalanches that failed in the East South occurred on February 28th around Darland Mountain. These avalanches broke up to two feet deep and failed on a layer of buried surface hoar from early February. Since the 28th, signs of instability have waned as the weather has cooled. This is a low likelihood, high-consequence avalanche problem that should continue to shape your travel plans. 

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