Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

A warm sunny spring day will help create wet unstable snow on many steep slopes. While you may see small natural avalanches near rocks, you might trigger a similar slide in nearby terrain. Don’t let one of these avalanches push you into a creek or over a cliff.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–1.5

    A generally thin surface crust will help limit the wet avalanche hazard to start the day. As the snow warms and becomes wet and sticky, things will change. Sunshine and warm temperatures will help weaken the snow near rocks and cliffs first. You could see small natural slides falling from these features. As the snow becomes wet and sticky on other slopes, you may trigger slides in steep terrain. While these will be most prevalent on E-S-W aspects, during this warmer period you could cause a slide on any aspect where you encounter wet snow. 

    In general, these avalanches will be smaller and easy to manage. Don’t let the catch you by surprise in high-consequence terrain. If you see slides gouging deeper, growing larger, or running farther, the scales have tipped, and you’re dealing with a much more dangerous wet loose beast. In these situations, put plenty of distance between you and similar terrain.

    (3/29/2024) A very old crown is visible on the far looker's left of Wenachee Bowl. Many roller balls from today were also present within the new snow.

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    If you head to some of the higher peaks, you’ll likely still find cold dry snow, particularly on shaded aspects. A few wind slabs may linger in these locations from the past week. Textured surfaces, pointy drifts, and small sharp cornices all point toward wind-loaded slopes. Be leery of firmer pillow-like slabs along exposed ridges and in the tops of chutes. While these pockets might be hard to trigger, they could still avalanche if you hit the wrong spot.

    (12/26/2023)

    Example: Textured surfaces, drifts, and cornices along an alpine ridge indicate wind slabs could linger nearby. 

    Photo: Matt Primomo

Avalanche Discussion

After a mild and snowy week, we’re at the beginning of another spring warm-up. While this likely won’t be the same shock to the snowpack that we experienced earlier in March, it's still a big change. Wet avalanche problems are notoriously hard to predict and frequently surprise travelers. Choose routes with lots of options, including an easy, safe way back to the car.

With this warm-up, we’re primarily concerned about the snow above the 3/21 crust. You’re likely to find this more prominent layer in the upper snowpack about 1-2ft below the surface at middle and upper elevations. In this surface snow, other, thinner crusts may also exist. Deeper in the snowpack, you can still see the Early February Crust. At this point, it would likely take a very big trigger in large complex higher elevation terrain to result in an avalanche. 

Observations from the Pass today indicated the snow turned wet and sticky even on northerly aspects at middle and lower elevations. While rollerballs were common, wet loose slides weren't as prevalent. A thin surface crust began to form in the afternoon as slopes returned to the shade. This crust will likely strengthen overnight. 

Regions covered