East Slopes Central

Unfortunately, East Central didn't pick up much snow. Still, watch for small pockets of stiff, wind-drifted snow at upper elevations, where you could trigger a small avalanche. These slides may not be consequential on their own, but they could push you into rocks, trees, or over cliffs in extreme terrain. 

The East Central only picked up 2-3" of inches of snow near the crest, with just a dusting farther east. Sunday could be a clear day, and slopes warming up in the sun could start to produce rollerballs or small wet loose avalanches. 

Moderate ridgeline winds may have formed very small, shallow wind slabs in very steep or confined terrain below high elevation ridgelines. Wind slabs likely formed over slick crusts and weak surfaces, making avalanches easy to trigger. Make frequent assessments in smaller terrain before committing to consequential terrain where a small avalanche could push you into rocks, trees, or over cliffs. 

Observations from this zone indicate complex, weak layering in the upper snowpack. There is widespread surface hoar development, crust/facet sandwiches, and a poor bond between recent snow and slick crusts below. Observations from Saturday indicated these weak surfaces are now buried intact below the few inches of fresh snow. While this storm wasn't the tipping point, these preserved, persistent weak layers may still be problematic with future loading events. While we wait for more snow, it will be useful to use small hand pits to check the new interface. Take note and send us an observation if you see buried surface hoar or if the overlying snow doesn't seem well bonded. While we wait for additional snow and a hopeful turn toward snowier conditions, expect many exposed hazards you don't typically see this time of year. These include rocks, random holes, creeks, and downed logs. Give yourself extra time and precaution to manage these “early season” conditions and know that some hazards may be obscured by new snow.