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Out of date — this forecast expired last year. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Very warm temperatures and filtered sun will increase the chances of wet avalanches as the day progresses. While the most obvious avalanches will be small wet loose slides, you should also be on the lookout for cornice falls and glide avalanches, which could be much larger. Give yourself options to move off steep slopes before they become wet and weak, and don't linger below cornices and rock slabs that could shed snow. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    If you see recent avalanches, rollerballs, or wet, weak snow that slides easily, move to more frozen or lower-angle slopes. Be ready for dynamic and changing conditions during this significant warm-up. The avalanche danger will increase throughout the day and will be more elevated on specific slopes. Steep, sun-exposed slopes will be the most likely locations to become wet and weak. Areas with solidly frozen crusts on the surface will present little to no avalanche danger. On northerly aspects and upper elevation slopes, watch for surface snow that becomes weak as they warms up for the first time.

    Warmer conditions will increase the chance of cornice fall and glide avalanches. These will be isolated, but you don’t want to be in their way. They're often big enough to kill a person on their own, and they frequently trigger a larger slide on the slope below.  Minimize time spent below large, overhung cornices, glide cracks, or other unstable snow features in the terrain above you. If you're heading into upper-elevation alpine terrain, use extra caution around large slopes and craggy features as the day warms.

    Wet loose avalanches on Rock Mountain's South Face during a previous winter.

     

Avalanche Discussion

On Friday, an NWAC forecaster traveled on sun-exposed slopes in the Skyline Lake area. Steep, southeast slopes below 5,000ft softened by mid-morning and were weak enough to trigger rollerballs by 12p. Some isolated areas near rocks were beginning to get unsupportive for boots. 

There's plenty of older avalanche debris from the late-March (23rd-24th) atmospheric river rain event and subsequent warm-up.  As much as 8" of snow accumulated over the rain crust that eventually froze over the past week. On shaded and upper elevation slopes, you may still find this recent snow, though it may not be dry in many locations. 

Regions covered