Avalanche forecast

East Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 6 months ago.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

A few inches of new snow will layer over a variety of older, weaker snow surfaces.  Use caution near and below ridgelines with freshly drifted snow; avalanches may be touchier than you'd expect.  Pay extra attention around high-consequence terrain, like near chutes or above cliffs, where a small avalanche could have real impacts.  

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    Look for shallow deposits of wind blown snow on leeward slopes at upper elevations and in isolated areas at mid-elevations.  These avalanches won't be large, so the real concern is that they break wider than you expect in terrain where they've layered over older, weaker snow.  Small avalanches would be especially problematic in high-consequence terrain, like in chutes or above cliffs. 

    While the avalanche danger will likely point to Low across most of the terrain,  you still need use caution around specific terrain features where winds have drifted new snow.   Shooting cracks, textured or wind-stiffened snow, or unstable snow on test slopes are easy ways to gauge the wind slab hazard.  Overhanging large cornices dot the mountain landscape.  Give them plenty of space along ridgelines, and don't linger on slopes below them. 

    Despite cool weather forecast for Saturday, if the sun pops out, watch for rollerballs and even small wet loose avalanches on very steep sunny slopes.  These small slides are unlikely to be a hazard except in isolated terrain features. 

    Look for shooting cracks in shallow wind drifted snow like in this photo,  just below ridgeline around 6700ft, east aspect.

    Photo: NCH

    (3/20/2025)

Avalanche Discussion

A few inches of snow should accumulate by Saturday morning along a period of moderate ridgeline winds, bringing a wintry refresh to the landscape.  On Thursday and Friday, observers generally found Low hazard with a variety of weak snow, including near-surface facets in higher open terrain, and surface hoar in more sheltered areas.  Many steep solar aspects had a melt-freeze crust. 

The primary concern moving forward is a poor bond at the new/old snow interface while we wait for new snow to stack up. There are a few crusts in the top 1.5-2 feet of the snowpack, and some have weak snow adjacent to them. The February 7th crust is 6-8" below the surface and the January 28th crust is below that, at a total depth of 10-16."  Observers in the Chewuch noted both crusts had weakened on shady aspects, with the upper 2/7 crust barely discernible in some northerly terrain.

About 10-20" of snow accumulated in the first two weeks of February. The last slide was reported on the 9th, when a few small wind slab avalanches were triggered on the leeward sides of ridges above 7,000ft. These were shallow, size D1-1.5, and involving recent snow. One may have run on a deeper crust, possibly from January 28th. 

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