Mt Hood

Even with low avalanche danger, you may find isolated areas of shallow, wind-drifted snow above 6000 ft. These could be consequential in extreme terrain on the upper mountain terrain, especially with the firm surfaces. Bring crampons, axe, and knowledge to keep slips from turning into a dangerous fall in steep terrain.

Frozen, "slide-for-life" conditions may be your primary concern on Sunday, especially once you climb above 6000 ft. Two inches of recent snow may cover up some of the ice. On Saturday, NWAC forecasters found the new snow drifting into shallow (2-4 inch thick) reactive wind slabs. These slabs were isolated in the terrain on leeward features above 6000 ft. 

The snowpack has transformed over the past week with several inches of rain and warm temperatures. Temperatures have cooled down, but we're left with a rough, variable snowpack. We lost a significant amount of snow at lower elevations, leaving us with many open creeks and shallowly buried obstacles to avoid. Fortunately, middle and upper elevations have held more snow, and the snowpack is well-adjusted after several melt-freeze cycles and a prolonged thaw. 

If you head into the mountains, travel cautiously as you may encounter new hazards (rocks, open creeks, etc) that weren't present last week. 

Your avalanche, snowpack, or weather observations are extremely valuable to the forecasters at NWAC. Help create a more accurate avalanche forecast by submitting your observations here.