Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Stevens Pass.
Recent human triggered slab avalanches and collapses have occurred on Stevens Pass in the past couple days. Snow and wind will build fresh slabs on Tuesday and Wednesday. Stay out of large avalanche paths and put lots of space between yourself and large, open slopes 35 degrees and steeper.
Discussion
Snow and Avalanche Discussion
On Saturday afternoon, a party of two snowboarders triggered a D2 avalanche at 5,400 ft on a southeast aspect in Tunnel Creek. Both members were partially buried. They were able to self-rescue without injuries and hiked up the bed surface where they re-entered the ski area boundary. This is as a very relevant near miss.
An observer reported a rumbling collapse on a northwest aspect at 4,200ft on Sunday. Many tests and profiles from the past weekend indicate a potential for triggering avalanches. On Friday the 15th, a skier remotely triggered a slab from approximately 50ft away at 4,800ft in an open area between old-growth trees near Lanham Lakes. The slide took out the entire clearing, edge to edge, and ran on facets over a crust.
In addition to avalanches, the deep snow has hazards of its own such as Snow Immersion Suffocation, tree well hazards, and roof avalanches. Don't linger beneath roofs, travel in the mountains with partners and keep them in sight.
Snowboard triggered slide in Tunnel Creek. Photo:Â Dan Veenhuizen 2/17/2019
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Snowpack Discussion
February 15, 2019
Since February 8th, the mountains (and low elevation cities) of the Pacific Northwest have experienced cold and very stormy weather. Significant snowfall has added up in all forecast zones. Records from Snoqualmie Pass DOT avalanche workers back to 1973 show that February 11-12th set a record for the most snow recorded in a 24hr period at that location. The table below shows storm totals starting February 8th through the morning of the 13th.
5 day totals ending morning of Feb 13th
Water Equivalent (inches)
24hr storm totals
(inches)
Difference in Height of Snow (inches)
Hurricane Ridge
1.97
N/A
+ 30
Mt. Baker
1.94
44
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Washington Pass
1.66
NA
+ 16
Stevens Pass
2.71
49
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Snoqualmie Pass
3.91
80
Â
Mission Ridge
1.86
38
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Crystal
2.91
59
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Paradise
4.55
N/A
Â
White Pass
N/A
57 (4400ft)
+ 26 (5800ft)
Mt. Hood Meadows
4.70
43
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Heavy precipitation brought many mountain regions to their tipping point. Avalanches ran readily with a peak of snowfall intensity. For Stevens Pass, Snoqualmie Pass, East Central, West South, Mt Hood, and possibly West Central zones we have good confirmation that this cycle happened from the night of February 11th through the 12th. In other zones, snow totals haven’t been significant enough for widespread avalanche cycles, or we lack data (like in the East South zone).
A natural persistent slab avalanche (D2.5) on a southeast aspect at 6,600ft. Grindstone Mtn in Icicle Canyon. Likely ran 2/12. Photo: Matt Primomo
The high rates of precipitation drove avalanches in the storm snow. Notably, a persistent weak layer of facets and surface hoar was buried in most zones on February 8th. Storms produced a widespread and prolonged cycle of avalanches on the February 8th interface, involving a variety of aspects and elevations. Local ski patrols, highway workers, and backcountry travelers reported extensive avalanching with widely propagating crowns and very sensitive conditions. With less stormy weather, observers have just begun to get a sense of the extent of the avalanche activity. Triggering persistent slab avalanches will be a concern for backcountry travelers in zones where the February 8th weak layer is active for at least the near, if not distant future. Stay tuned for more updates.
Large surface hoar near Snow Lake Divide on February 7, 2019 just before it was buried on the 8th. Photo: Jeremy Allyn
Avalanche Problems
Persistent Slabs
Continue to use caution when traveling in the mountains and minimize your exposure to avalanche terrain. In addition to obvious avalanche paths, you may be able to trigger avalanches in steep open trees. Avoid large, open slopes 35 degrees and steeper. Stop and re-group in safer terrain, well out from under overhead avalanche paths. Professional guides and astute backcountry travelers are still avoiding big terrain and unsupported slopes. When dealing with this tricky snowpack, prioritize signs of instability and keep you decisions conservative and simple.
You’ll find the February 8th facets buried 2-3 feet below the surface with an underlying crust. The snowpack structure is widespread on all aspects and elevations. Another round of snow and wind in the next 48 hours will build more fresh slabs. These avalanches should be considered guilty until obviously innocent. Watch for signs like collapses (whumphs) or tests indicating propagation/triggering. Prioritize information that indicates a potential for triggering avalanches over observations that point at relative stability.
As we get further from the last avalanche cycle, signs of instability are becoming less frequent and sometimes less obvious. But they are there. On Sunday near Lanham creek, I poured over the snowpack identifying grains and performing many tests. After emerging with contradictory test results, we experienced a large rumbling collapse 2000ft from the profile site. The collapse was all the information I needed to avoid avalanche terrain.
Release of a cohesive layer of soft to hard snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slabs.
The best ways to manage the risk from Persistent Slabs is to make conservative terrain choices. They can be triggered by light loads and weeks after the last storm. The slabs often propagate in surprising and unpredictable ways. This makes this problem difficult to predict and manage and requires a wide safety buffer to handle the uncertainty.
This Persistent Slab was triggered remotely, failed on a layer of faceted snow in the middle of the snowpack, and crossed several terrain features.
Persistent slabs can be triggered by light loads and weeks after the last storm. You can trigger them remotely and they often propagate across and beyond terrain features that would otherwise confine wind and storm slabs. Give yourself a wide safety buffer to handle the uncertainty.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2