Stevens Pass

Surface conditions are variable but you can still find soft, settled snow on shaded and sheltered slopes. Beware of a slick crust not too far beneath the surface.

You can still find nice snow conditions on shaded and sheltered slopes. Surfaces have been weakening in the shade, and in the sun you'll find a thick melt freeze crust. The incoming weather shouldn't be enough to change avalanche danger on Friday, but you might find areas of very shallow windslab at the highest elevations by late in the day. If you're planning to travel in very steep, consequential terrain, keep wind slabs or even shallow sluffs on your radar. A slick crust just under the surface has made for the perfect surface to scrape small point releases from very steep slopes. This same surface may make the next weak layer when we do get more snow.

The crust that formed around the MLK holiday weekend is about 1 foot below the surface, and the cold and dry recent weather has contributed to near surface faceting and surface hoar growth on shaded slopes. See below of a photo profile that depicts the upper snowpack structure.  Observers have consistently found small facets above, and sometimes below, the crust. We'll be watching these layers in the upper snowpack when the next storms arrive. At the moment, its not a problem.  With more snow this weak structure could cause avalanche concerns. The better we can track snow surfaces the better we'll be able to understand any future avalanche problems on it, so let us know what you find out there on Friday.