Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Out of date — this forecast expired last year. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Friday will be the warmest day yet. The snowpack is slowly consolidating, but you could still trigger wet avalanches, especially on steep sunny slopes. If you feel the snow becoming wet and heavy, move to lower angle terrain. Also avoid lingering beneath overhung cornices or steep rocks still holding snow. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Temperatures will be even warmer on Friday. Surface crusts will be more robust, but you could still trigger wet avalanches as they break down in the sun. Wet avalanches on shady terrain may also be possible with even warmer temperatures. Move to lower-angle terrain if you feel the surface snow becoming wet, heavy, or sticking to your equipment. Wet avalanches may run naturally from trees or rocks shedding snow above you, so be aware of overhead terrain. Consider finding shady terrain for recreation in dry snow with a lower likelihood of avalanches. 

    A rogue glide or wet slab avalanche off steep rocky terrain or grassy slopes is also a consideration. Avoid lingering underneath glide cracks, cliffs, or overhung cornices. These overhead hazards may fail naturally as temperatures rise and are hazards on their own. However, a large trigger, such as a cornice fall, may also trigger a slab avalanche on the slope below.

    (2/24/2025)

    Loose wet avalanche (D2) on Lichtenberg Mtn

    Photo: Josh Hirshberg

Avalanche Discussion

Another warm, sunny, spring-like day is in store for Friday. The recent snow may have surface crusts, but hasn't fully transitioned into a consolidated snowpack of melt forms. You will likely find a combination of dry snow on northerly aspects and variable, breakable crusts on other aspects. As the surface crusts break down throughout the morning, wet avalanches will become increasingly likely. Plan your day so you can move off of and out from under steep sunny terrain by early afternoon. 

Since Friday, Feb. 21st, the Stevens Pass zone has received over 5 inches of water, 1.5 inches of which was snow above 4000ft on Tuesday. There is now about 2 feet of snow over the 2/24 melt-freeze crust. 

On Wednesday, an NWAC forecaster near Stevens Pass got the first post-storm look at upper elevation terrain and observed very large crowns and cornice failures above 6000ft on Rock Mountain and Nason Ridge. They also reported a widespread wet loose avalanche cycle during the day. The reactive storm interfaces from Tuesday were strengthening, but there may be lingering instabilities in very steep, unsupported slopes and confined alpine features. If you use this warm sunny weather to get into the upper elevations, enter more complex terrain cautiously and make frequent assessments before committing to more consequential routes in wind-affected terrain. 

Older observations highlight the widespread wet avalanche cycle that began on Saturday during the atmospheric river. We suspect the rain/snow line over the weekend hovered between 5000 and 6000ft. Many large and very large wet avalanches were reported along the HWY 2 corridor and outside of the Stevens Pass Ski Area.  We are still cataloging this avalanche cycle, so let us know what you see by submitting an observation!

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