Stevens Pass

A drastic drop in temperatures will help limit avalanche concerns. Chunks of cornice or blocks of snow falling from steep rocks are still possible on most spring days, so practice good travel techniques and avoid lingering below these hazards. You'll also likely want to bring tools to help prevent long falls on hard, icy surfaces. 

Our prolonged warm spell will get a short break, with temperatures potentially over 15°F cooler on Tuesday. Along with strong westerly winds, this will likely help lock up our wet snowpack. Switch your mindset to more of a spring diurnal pattern, where you should expect icy, slick surfaces in the morning that gradually soften throughout the day. Sunny aspects will warm up more quickly, and northerly aspects may not warm up at all, particularly at higher elevations. The sun is strong in April, so as things warm up, you should still be looking up for potential hazards overhead. Cornices, shedding, and steep rocks and cliffs might still send snow down from above. Move through terrain with overhead hazards more quickly in the warm afternoons. 

Over the weekend, observers reported many small, wet loose avalanches and heavy wet snow. An NWAC forecaster at Stevens Pass reported a couple of new wet loose avalanches out of steep terrain on Sunday. The snowpack is adjusting to the spring warmup, and the wet, sticky surfaces were still mostly supportable to skis. We have limited observations from upper elevations, but we know that even northerly aspects well into the middle elevation band experienced significant warming and will likely have thick crusts on Tuesday morning. Consider bringing equipment to prevent long sliding falls on steep, icy surfaces. 

Prepare for low snow cover, open creeks, and icy surfaces, which create various travel hazards.