East Slopes South

Avalanche conditions are generally safe, but be ready for variable travel conditions throughout the zone. Firm travel will likely be your most significant concern, so equip yourself with the proper gear to reduce the chance of a long sliding fall. Keep an eye out for open creeks and shallowly buried objects. 

The snowpack has endured a beating over the past week with several inches of rain and warm temperatures. We're finally cooling down, but we're now left with a rough, variable snowpack across the eastern mountains. At lower elevations, we lost a significant amount of snow leaving us with many open creeks and shallowly buried objects present. Fortunately, middle and upper elevations have been somewhat resilient, and the snowpack is finally adjusting as temperatures cool down. 

Moving forward, the main story will be the firm travel conditions at middle and upper elevations. So, pack the proper traction and tools to travel more efficiently and reduce the chance of a long sliding fall. While less likely, you could encounter shallow wind slabs at upper elevations in areas where you find light new snowfall. These slabs will generally be small and isolated but could be poorly boned to the underlying slick crust.

If you head out Saturday, enjoy the drier weather, but travel with caution since plenty of new hazards are lurking that were not present last week.

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