Bulletin d’avalanche

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Danger d’avalanche

Fri
Alpin
3 · Marqué
Limite forestière
2 · Modéré
Sous la limite
Sans niveau
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Périmé — ce bulletin a expiré 8 months ago. Vous consultez des conditions passées, pas le bulletin en cours.

Points saillants

Expect a sharp rise in avalanche danger as you ascend above 6000 ft into more wind-exposed terrain. Heavy snowfall, strong winds, and warming temperatures will create dangerous avalanche conditions. Be out of the mountains early and don’t be lured into steep, wind-loaded slopes that may look appealing to ride. 

Problèmes avalancheux

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Likely
    Taille
    1–2

    Wednesday brought the first phase of wind loading to our upper elevations across the zone. Look for additional snowfall and wind loading on warming temperatures on Thursday. The combination of warming and heavy snowfall (especially closer to the Cascade Crest) will create reactive slabs of drifted snow. Unfortunately, these are also the areas that may look most appealing to ride, so you’ll need a good level of discipline to avoid this problem fully. 

    Look for these slabs to be most prevalent on the leeward side of ridges, below cornices, and on mid-slope depressions. You can use visual clues such as blowing snow, sharp cornices, and textured, rippled surfaces to help you pinpoint where this problem lurks. Shooting cracks under your boards or machine are obvious signs that you found an unstable slab. Keep in mind that any triggered avalanche - big or small- would be a nasty ride with all the early-season obstacles that still plague the eastern mountains. You can significantly reduce your exposure to this problem by staying on lower-angle terrain under 35 degrees and avoiding steep slopes overhead. 

    (2/1/2025)

    Blowing snow, fresh drifts, sharp cornices, and rime all point towards wind loading along this ridgeline. 

    Photo: Dallas Glass

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Possible
    Taille
    1–1.5

    Some level of wet avalanche activity is likely as snow levels rise and rain begins falling on a thin, dry snowpack. Look for this problem to become more widespread in the late morning and afternoon as wet snow changes to rain. Be mindful of these on steep features above 6000 ft. Watch for rollerballs fanning downslope, wet -sticky surfaces, and fresh wet loose avalanches as clear indicators to move off steeper terrain.

    (3/2/2022)

    An example of a wet loose avalanche near the rain/snow line from past years. 

    Photo: Andrew Kiefer

Avalanche Discussion

This storm track favors the southern Washington Cascades and volcanoes. The East South will see some solid precipitation numbers along with some warming. In typical Cascade fashion, expect more dangerous conditions closer to the Cascade Crest, including Bumping Lake, the Tieiton, and areas near Chinook and White Pass. 

The snowpack has struggled to build across this zone. While this storm will help, I would still exercise caution when accessing the mountains. Creeks, downed trees, and rocks lurk and will easily exacerbate the consequences of an avalanche.

The weather over the past few weeks has been extraordinary, with torrential rains, extreme winds, flooding, and landslides. Many communities are dealing with damage to homes, infrastructure, and businesses, stretching resources thin. These events have limited access to the mountains for all of us. State and local resources are working diligently to reduce the worst of these impacts. We can help by being respectful of local communities, obeying road closures, and heeding ski area uphill travel policies.

We could use the observations as snow begins to pile up. Let us know what you see by submitting an observation here.

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