Lawinenlagebericht

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
Auf der Karte ansehen

Lawinengefahr

Thu
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
3 · Erheblich
Unterhalb
3 · Erheblich
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 3 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Dangerous conditions continue with natural avalanches possible and some that could easily bury or kill a person. Watch for "red flag" signs of danger like recent avalanches, cracks shooting through the snow, and whumphing collapses. Stay off of and out from under large, open slopes steeper than 35 degrees, especially where winds have drifted deep slabs of snow.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Storm Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Likely
    Größe
    1.5–2.5

    Only travel in the backcountry if you're confident in your ability to carefully assess the snowpack and choose conservative terrain options. The best way to stay safe is to stick to terrain under 35 degrees and dense forest. Avoid large, open, and steep slopes. Watch out for drifted pillows of snow and steep convexed roll-overs. Make sure to stay out from under start zones and places where avalanches could come down from above. 

    Significant new snow and wind are maintaining dangerous conditions. You can trigger avalanches in the recent storm snow on a range of steep slopes, especially where you see collapsing, cracking, or recent avalanches. Avalanches will be easier to trigger and bigger on leeward and cross-loaded slopes.  The most dangerous locations will be steep, leeward slopes near ridgetops at mid and upper elevations. Avalanches could be deep, very large, and destructive in these areas.  Strong to extreme winds may drift slabs in unique locations. Another 1-2 feet of snow is expected by the end of Wednesday, with strong westerly winds continuing through Tuesday night. All the recent snow could be testing deeper weak layers and crusts that were buried in late December.

    (1/6/2024)

    A skier triggered a 1.5ft deep slab avalanche. NE at 5,500ft above Lake Valhalla.

Avalanche Discussion

At publishing time, Stevens Pass has received 30" since the 8th, with another 1-2 feet possible before the storm ends. So far, visibility has been poor, and we don't know the full extent of recent avalanches. Just from what we know, conditions have been very active. Widespread natural avalanches occurred Monday night, and Stevens Pass Patrol reported many avalanches triggered by ski cuts and explosives on Tuesday. Most avalanches have been smaller, with a number reported up to size D2. Almost all reported avalanches have run within the recent storm snow. A few explosive-triggered slides have pulled out small pockets of older snow (possibly down to the 12/30 crust), but they didn't propagate on these deeper layers. On the 6th, a skier was carried in an avalanche on Valhalla Peak that ran on the December 30th crust. 

All of the recent snow could stress older weak layers. The thin December 30th crust is now over 2 feet below the surface. More defined weak layers near the more stout Solstice crust complex are 3-4 feet below the snow surface. While these layers are quickly getting deeper and harder for the weight of a backcountry traveler to impact, it's worth keeping them in mind. Snow profiles below show some of these deeper crusts and weak layers.

As snow totals add up, deep snow immersion is becoming a real concern- beware of falling into tree-wells and open creeks!

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