East Slopes Central

A dusting of snow for areas near the crest won't change the avalanche danger or improve travel conditions. The cooling temperatures will also limit softening on sunny slopes. Continue to practice good backcountry travel and observation habits while waiting out this prolonged high pressure. 

Friday will be much colder than Thursday, and while the areas closest to the Cascade Crest might get a very thin dusting of snow, don't expect much to make it further into the zone. The cooler temperatures also mean that if you got to enjoy travel on softening surfaces in the sun on Thursday, you likely find those same slopes staying quite icy on Friday. 

While conditions are less than inspiring, there is soft and supportable snow to find if you're willing to work for it. Your best bet for soft, dry snow is northern aspects at upper elevations in wind-sheltered areas. You will likely need to travel through rough and icy conditions under the forest canopy to access upper elevations and then find those elusive areas without a firm wind-crust. Southern slopes might be smooth with supportable crusts, but they'll likely be quite icy, and slips and falls could be dangerous. Eastern and Western aspects have breakable crusts of varying thicknesses to navigate. Shady slopes and north-facing aspects holding cold, dry snow are becoming very weak, with large faceted grains and surface hoar. 

On Wednesday, NWAC Forecasters traveling in the Entiat area confirmed these variable conditions but also found pleasant skiing with "recycled pow" on sheltered north aspects. This recycled snow consisted of large, weak, faceted grains, and it made for good skiing despite its ability to become problematic when it snows again in the future. We also found crusts on all sunny aspects, most of which were breakable except for directly southern aspects, where the crust was supportable to snowmobiles, boots, and skis. Valley bottoms and sheltered north aspects also had widespread surface hoar. 

With these variable surfaces, preparing for challenging travel is important. Consider bringing sharps, including ice axes and ski or boot crampons, to prevent long sliding falls. 

Observations are marvelously helpful even during periods of inactive weather and low avalanche hazard. Consider contributing to the forecast by submitting an observation.