East Slopes North

Avalanches are unlikely. There's a chance for wind-transported snow at upper elevations. Southeast wind will increase on Tuesday ahead of a weak storm. 

On Tuesday, southeast winds may be just strong enough to transport snow at the highest ridgelines. This isn't a favored wind direction for the zone, and we don't expect significant wind slab hazard to develop. Be ready to make your own assessment of avalanche conditions if you're venturing above 7,000ft or into further flung terrain outside of the Washington Pass area.

A dusting of new snow accumulated at Washington Pass since Saturday. Some of this was likely light rain at very low elevations. Recently, observers have found soft, dry snow on sheltered, northerly slopes, with firmer surfaces in sun and wind-exposed terrain. On Friday, observers in the Hairpin Valley reported moist snow and rollerballs at mid-elevations, with light rime where surfaces stayed cooler.

Small, natural wind slab avalanches were reported from upper elevations on December 26th and 27th, including an avalanche in extreme terrain on Pica Peak, which appears to have stepped down to a deeper layer. These avalanches will now be difficult to trigger.

It's worth keeping in mind that observers have reported a strong-over-weak snowpack structure where recent snow and drifted slabs overly a weak layer/crust combination in the top foot of the snowpack. There've been more signs of instability with a similar snowpack structure in the East Central zone. Even there, the structure isn't directly driving the avalanche hazard. Observers have found weak layers adjacent to crusts in the upper snowpack near Washington Pass and Harts Pass. They've found little potential to trigger avalanches where the crusts are thick and the overlying snow is decently bonded. There's uncertainty where the crusts could be thinner and weak layers could be more pronounced, such as at upper elevations and east of the Cascade crest. For an idea of what you might find in you may find in the southern portion of this zone, like mid-Twisp River drainage, check out these observations from the Holden area.

All of this is to say that conditions are generally safe, but there are some things to keep in mind. You can help out by contributing to the forecast. Submit an observation, and let us know what you see!