East Slopes North

Exercise normal caution with cornices, wind slabs, and sluffs in mind. You may still find some isolated areas of unstable snow in unsupported or consequential terrain at higher elevations. Consider the consequence of hazards such as cornice fall while planning and executing your tour. 

The snowpack is generally strong, deep and without any layers of concern. However, normal caution should be exercised with the following in mind:

Cornices: Cornices are sagging, and have been calving off sporadically over the past week. On Monday, an observer witnessed a large, natural cornice fall from alpine terrain in the Hairpin Valley above Hwy 20. With the recent natural activity, more could happen on Wednesday. Plan your route to avoid spending time underneath areas where cornices are likely to exist, such as prominent ridgelines. If on a ridge, be sure to give cornices a wide berth, as they often break further back than one would expect.

Wind slabs: Wind slabs from earlier in the week are becoming harder to trigger and more isolated in the terrain. Still, it wouldn't be impossible to trigger a small, cohesive slab on high, shaded slopes on Wednesday. Be careful around unsupported slopes and in consequential terrain. On Monday, observers triggered a small wind slab about 1ft deep on an easterly aspect above treeline near the Hairpin on Hwy 20. They also witnessed a large cornice fall from a northwest aspect at 7,200ft.

Loose avalanches: Several small, natural loose avalanches have been running or human triggered on shaded slopes. If you find more than around 8" of new snow, expect that these sluffs could entrain and grow larger as they move downhill. 

 Further east, the snowpack is more shallow, and could potentially harbor persistent weak layers. A widespread avalanche cycle occurred in the zone around February 22nd. Many avalanches were large or very large, and crowns encompassed entire features. Avalanche debris from this event can still be found in many areas.