Lawinenlagebericht

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
Auf der Karte ansehen

Lawinengefahr

Thu
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
Keine Stufe
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Kernpunkte

The welcome return to winter is finally here! A storm will bring cool temperatures, heavy snow, and strong winds. Expect dangerous avalanche conditions at upper elevations, where you could easily trigger large avalanches in wind-drifted snow. HWY 2 remains closed, and access is challenging, but if you climb above 5500ft, mitigate your risk by sticking to low-angle or wind-sheltered slopes. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Very Likely
    Größe
    1–2

    Heavy snow with strong winds created sensitive wind slabs at upper elevations. Additional snow and wind will increase their size and distribution on Wednesday. Above 6000ft, you could easily trigger large avalanches in steep wind-loaded terrain. Cracks that shoot out in front of you, or actively blowing snow, are all signs of instability, prompting you to choose low-angle slopes. With particularly high wind speeds, these slabs may form in unusual locations or further downslope than you may expect. The best risk reduction strategy is to avoid steep terrain in exposed locations. 

    Unfortunately, the overlap between enough snow for recreation and sheltered enough to avoid dangerous wind slabs is very small. Mid-elevations, where you usually find sheltered, forested opportunities for snow travel, still don't have much snow coverage. But you could still trigger a small wind slab in isolated open areas anywhere you find continuous snow. Even these small avalanches could ruin your season by dragging you through exposed obstacles. 

    (3/13/2025)

    Example of blowing snow forming deep drifts even in somewhat sheltered terrain. 

    Photo: Katie Warren

Avalanche Discussion

Stevens Pass racked up another 2.5" of precipitation in the last 24 hours, most of which fell as rain below 5500ft. The upper elevations may have seen 12-24" of new snow along with intense winds. We have very limited information, but we expect new snow accumulated over slick crusts. With increased uncertainty, ensure you maintain wider safety margins and make diligent observations while traveling. If you see any signs of instability, or if small test slopes crack or produce mini slab avalanches, avoid steep slopes even in wind-sheltered terrain. Despite increasing avalanche risk, avalanches remain a secondary concern to other issues facing the Stevens Pass zone. Getting to continuous snow is a long and potentially arduous process.  In addition, Highway 2 to Stevens Pass remains closed in both directions, with no estimated reopening date. Flooding, washouts, downed trees, and damage to major roads are more imminent concerns. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a pattern shift toward colder, snowier weather that will begin to fill in our low and mid-elevation bands. But we'll still need to be patient as WSDOT crews work tirelessly to reopen the highway. Significant rain events since December 4th that contributed to the destruction of the highway total over 23" of water as of Dec. 16th. We know much of this fell as rain even to the highest elevations. But there is a significantly deeper snowpack above 6000ft, and we know very little about it due to limited access. If you make your way into alpine terrain, you should be prepared with the knowledge to make your own snowpack assessments. With the warm start to the 25-26 winter season, we have less snowpack information than usual to start daily forecast operations. For zones and elevation bands with less snow than needed for avalanche hazard, we will issue a forecast with No Rating. Anticipated avalanche and weather conditions will still be updated daily. NWAC will issue an avalanche danger rating for a zone when enough snow to produce avalanches has accumulated at middle and upper elevations.

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