East Slopes South

There is not enough data to support issuing a hazard rating for the East South zone at this time. That being said, if you are in a part of the zone seeing new snow and wind, anticipate some likelihood of triggering a small avalanche in wind-affected snow. Signs of wind transport, such as uneven snow surfaces, blowing snow, or shooting cracks from your equipment, are good reasons to pause and reassess your terrain choices.

Hello and welcome to the 2025-26 avalanche forecast season! We're happy you're here! 

We do not have any snowpack information for the East South zone, and the weather station data is a bit limited. We suspect that areas closer to the Cascade Crest have seen more snowfall throughout the season thus far, and those areas have hung onto coverage at upper elevations. Observations from the East Central zone report consistent snow coverage starting around 6000 ft. We can say with a decent amount of confidence that there is little to no snow at lower elevations and, therefore, little to no avalanche hazard.

So at upper elevations, where previous snow coverage was likely more consistent before the storm, keep an eye out for new wind slabs forming on top. At middle elevations where snow coverage was less consistent, wind slab formation will also be less consistent. However, a ride in a small avalanche could carry you into exposed early-season hazards. Wind slabs typically form just below ridgelines and in terrain features that are gully or chute-shaped.  Keep an eye out for dune-like drifts, recent cornice formation, and snow that feels denser underneath you. Long shooting cracks or audible collapses are obvious signs that you have found an unstable slab.

All in all, Winter isn't exactly "on" quite yet, and things may even regress next week. Keep moving through the backcountry with an early-season mindset and trust that with time, you'll be getting epic those pow turns you've been dreaming about since Halloween.

With the warm start to the 25-26 winter season, we have less snowpack information than usual to start daily forecast operations. For zones and elevation bands with less snow than needed for avalanche hazard, we will issue a forecast with No Rating. Anticipated avalanche and weather conditions will still be updated daily. NWAC will issue an avalanche danger rating for a zone when enough snow to produce avalanches has accumulated at middle and upper elevations.