West Slopes South

You'll likely notice some changes in the weather, but not the snowpack or avalanche potential on Tuesday. You'll need to continue to manage hazards resulting from difficult travel conditions. So give yourself extra time and bring the right tools to move safely through the mountains.

It started to warm up on Monday around the West South zone, with multiple stations reaching 40 degrees. In some cases, there was a 30-degree swing in a manner of hours! High clouds moved into the area to help signify a slight pattern change that's on our doorstep for Tuesday. 

Although the weather will be a little different, don't expect much change in the snow or avalanche conditions. Sure, warmer temps can help soften slopes that receive direct sunshine, but they still won't reach the threshold needed for wet avalanches. The winds should also kick up, but a general lack of soft snow available for transport means you won't need to worry about wind slabs, either. Yes, you may find a few pockets or pillows at upper elevations if you really go hunting in extreme terrain, but they will be the exception rather than the rule.

So we're left with the hazards presented by travel conditions. They're fairly well documented at this point. In open terrain, smooth, albeit variable, travel seems to be the norm. Pockets of soft snow are interspersed with breakable crust and icy slopes. At lower elevations and in the trees, travel is rugged over frozen irregular surfaces. It takes more time than usual to move safely across all these different slopes. On Mt Hood, “slide for life” conditions have been reported, where a simple slip can turn into an uncontrolled fall. You may experience similar scary, icy slopes on the volcanoes. 

At the moment, we aren’t concerned about any lingering layers in the snowpack. We’re focused on areas of softer snow over the 1/10 crust. Reports of widespread surface hoar and near-surface facets continue to pour in. They're fun to look at now, but we'll see if they come back to bite us whenever our next storm arrives.