Stevens Pass

Use extra caution near any avalanche terrain, especially where strong winds have recently built slabs of snow. You can still easily trigger avalanches 2-3 feet deep in recent snow over a crust. Any triggered avalanche could be very large and difficult to survive.

Natural and impressively large triggered avalanches have been ongoing since the 11th. Most recently, Highway and ski area avalanche control results suggest that triggering is less reactive than on the 13th, but avalanches can still be very large and destructive.  Professionals at both Stevens Pass Ski Area and WSDOT triggered very large (size D2.5-3) avalanches on the 13th and 14th. As recently as Friday, professionals and observers noted extremely reactive conditions, with remotely triggered avalanches running in places where they've rarely been seen, breaking widely, and traveling incredibly long distances on low-angle slopes. 

Stevens Pass received 7.5" of water equivalent falling as over 4 feet of snow since rain on the 8th. There are a few crusts that formed during this week-long storm cycle (on the 8th, 12th, and 14th). Some of these formed short-lived weak layers. This weekend, you can still trigger avalanches in the recent storm snow on the 3/12 crust, 1.5-2.5 feet below the surface. Consider the consequences of deep snow immersion. Tree wells and creek holes can be very dangerous in these conditions. Make sure to keep close tabs on your partners in case you need to perform a rescue. 

On Wednesday, an NWAC forecaster reported widespread touchy storm slab avalanches in the Skyline Lake area. Avalanches were triggered remotely and broke widely around terrain features. On Tuesday, two snowboarders were caught and carried in a storm slab that failed on a crust 2-2.5' deep. These are dynamic and active storms with rapidly changing conditions. Make sure to keep a conservative mindset and wide margins with your terrain selection.

At upper elevations, we have limited information, but we suspect that older weak layers would be difficult to trigger.  Given the recent load of new snow at upper elevations, avalanches on a range of layers could now be unsurvivable. So treat upper elevations as highly suspect until we can reduce the uncertainty.