Lawinenlagebericht

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Tue
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist last year abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Steer around steep slopes with wind-drifted snow below ridgelines, the base of cliffs, and cross loaded gullies where you could trigger an avalanche. At upper elevations, particularly in exposed alpine terrain, avalanches may be larger. To avoid triggering avalanches, you can choose lower angle slopes or wind-sheltered slopes. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–2

    While the recently formed wind slabs are gaining strength, you could still find places where a large avalanche is possible. The most likely places are steep, unsupported, lee slopes at upper elevations.  A few inches of fresh snow could hide textured surfaces, so look for cornice formations and pillowlike drifts, or feel for stiffer surface snow layers to identify wind-affected terrain. Recent avalanches or cracking shooting from your equipment are signs to avoid steep terrain. You can also use small wind-affected test slopes to see how the snow reacts. Snow that fractures and slides easily means avalanches are more likely. Smaller storm slabs or loose snow avalanches are possible in sheltered terrain.

    You might encounter smaller storm slabs or loose avalanches in sheltered terrain. Loose avalanches might be dry on steep shady slopes, or wet where the sun warms snow surfaces. 

    (3/15/2025)

    A small skier triggered wind slab on a north aspect near Lake Valhalla. 

    SS-AS-R1-D1, 5500ft, N aspect

    Photo: Jeremy

Avalanche Discussion

Monday should be a break between storm systems, with short bursts of convective showers and periods of sun. Ambient temperatures will be chilly, but the mid-March sun will feel warm if it makes a more prolonged appearance. 

We are just coming out of a multiday storm period during which 2-3ft of snow accumulated with periods of strong winds. The bond with the old snow surfaces seems favorable, but over the past few days, NWAC forecasters and other observers reported reactive wind slabs failing on mid-storm interfaces. Dry loose avalanches were also common on shady slopes, and small wet loose avalanches on sunny slopes. West, east, and south aspects now have a surface melt-freeze crust.  

The snowpack underwent a major transition since the atmospheric river (AR) storm of February 21-25th. This AR crust is now buried 2-3ft deep and at elevations up to approximately 6000ft, the upper snowpack has a few thin melt-freeze crusts from warm temperatures in early March. On Thursday, I found a few storm interfaces buried 6-10 inches deep that showed signs of instability in snowpack tests. We expect these layers are gaining strength, but with this next storm moving in so quickly, we can't rule out avalanches into Thursday's snow layers. South facing terrain may have a thin surface crust, from a briefly sunny morning on Friday. 

On high elevation, northerly aspects, there's a chance that you could find buried surface hoar, 2-3 feet below the surface. On the 10th, observers in the Foss River drainage reported triggering isolated avalanches, which are suspiciously indicative of this weak layer.

If you make it into the backcountry, please share with us what you find by submitting an observation HERE or on the Avy app. 

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