Bulletin d’avalanche

East Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Danger d’avalanche

Mon
Alpin
2 · Modéré
Limite forestière
2 · Modéré
Sous la limite
2 · Modéré
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Périmé — ce bulletin a expiré 7 months ago. Vous consultez des conditions passées, pas le bulletin en cours.

Points saillants

You may be able to trigger avalanches in wind-loaded terrain where westerly winds have built cornices and stiff slabs. Steer around steep, unsupported slopes where you see recent avalanches, wind-sculpted features, or thickly drifted pillows of snow. Light rain may bring a chance for wet avalanches on the western edge of the zone and at low elevations.

Problèmes avalancheux

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Given the recent wind, use caution on unsupported wind-loaded slopes 35 degrees or steeper. Steer around convex roll-overs. Be aware of overhung cornices. Warm temperatures and light rain may cause them to fall.

    Light snow and wind could add to existing wind slabs. Any new avalanches ar most likely to be shallow and small. While it's now unlikely, recent avalanches did break on a deeper crust buried around the New Year. Slides on the crust or involving all of the recent snow on leeward slopes could easily be 2-3 deep.

     

    (1/7/2026)

    Broken cornices and a very deep crown in unsupported terrain. This likely occurred on the night of Jan 6th. Cutthroat Lake area, N, 7,200ft

    Photo: NCMG

  • Loose Dry

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

    There's plenty of light, dry snow on a variety of slopes.  As rain enters the western portion of the zone and select low elevations, watch for triggering wet avalanches on steep slopes. Look for fresh avalanches, roller balls, and wet, weak snow as signs of the danger. Use caution where avalanches can push you into rocks or off cliffs. 

    (11/30/2025)

    An example of loose avalanches on the southwest face of Tower Mtn. Point release avalanches (likely loose dry) in the foreground (right side) may've occurred on 11/28. SW, 7,000ft

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

Avalanche Discussion

On Friday, January 9th, four backcountry skiers were caught and carried by a large avalanche while descending near Longs Pass in the Teanaway River drainage. The slide occurred on an S to SE facing slope at approximately 6200ft. One member of the party was not buried. Another teammate was partially buried but injured. The other two individuals were fully buried. During the initial rescue, the team located one of the buried victims, who did not survive. Despite the group's best efforts, they could not pinpoint the fourth member of their team. The party contacted 911 via a satellite device, and Kittitas County Search and Rescue responded to the area on Friday evening. Additional rescue efforts were postponed until daylight. Search and Rescue then returned to the site on Saturday and were joined by NWAC forecasters. The teams were able to locate the remaining victim. Unfortunately, neither of the fully buried skiers survived. Our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and community of those involved in this avalanche accident. S-SE aspect, 6200ft, Avg Depth 2ft, HS-AS-R3-D2.5-O

A wet atmospheric river is aiming at the North Cascades starting on Sunday with Monday bringing the bulk of the precipitation to the East North zone. Cold temperatures will initially keep rain at bay, especially east of the Cascade crest. Watch for rain further west and at select locations exposed to warm air from the west.

On the 9th, clear skies and sun warmed southerly slopes just enough to trigger roller balls and form very light crusts. Over the past couple of days, observers reported avalanches and signs of instability in wind-loaded terrain that involve all (2ft) of the recent storm snow, and even breaking on the January 3rd crust. A cycle of natural avalanches occurred on the night of the 6th, up to size D2.5. On Thursday, observers triggered an avalanche in a small wind-loaded pocket that broke 2.5 feet deep on the New Year's crust. 

The most problematic slopes are where wind-drifted slabs are resting over a robust version of the New Year's crust. Observers have noted that the crust is more pronounced at upper elevations where temperature inversions occurred. It could also vary with aspect and slope angle. There have been occasional reports of a weak layer resting on it.  A couple of observers found buried surface hoar below 5,500ft in the Cutthroat drainage, though it hasn't been found elsewhere. If you venture to upper elevations, take time to dig to the crust. Any sudden or propagating test results should be a "red flag" sign to stick to lower-angle terrain. 

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