Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 4 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Expect a calm, sunny, and cold day. Search for clues that you could trigger an avalanche in wind-drifted  areas such as cracks shooting through the snow and pillows of stiffer snow. Steer around steep slopes just below ridges where you see these clues. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    East wind drifted low-density snow into thicker wind deposits through Thursday. You can still trigger avalanches in these stiffer wind slabs and they could be big enough to bury you. Pay attention to clues such as textured snow surfaces or wind-sculpted features. Feel for heavier, stiffer snow beneath you. If you find any of these characteristics or identify any other obvious clues of instability, steer around slopes greater than 35 degrees.  

    (2/22/2023)

    Isolated cracking in pockets of wind-drifted snow near Lake Wenatchee. 

    Photo: Brooke Maushund

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    A thin, weak layer of snow resting on a slick crust from mid-January is anywhere from 3-5ft down in the snowpack. We've been continuing to find test results that indicate propagation potential could occur on this layer, and this layer of concern keeps getting deeper. The last activity we know of on it was from February 8-13th. Some of these were quite large and surprisingly wide.  While it's now difficult to trigger the weak layer, any resulting avalanche could be very large and destructive.  If you see any deep slides which ran naturally during the storm, please take a photo and share it with us. 

    (2/11/2023)

    Large slab avalanche that carried and buried a skier a week and a half ago. This layer may still be a problem. 

    Photo: Rob Fallon

Avalanche Discussion

Avalanche Fatality: Colchuck Pk, East Central Zone: Read the preliminary report here.

Forecast Discussion:

Bring plenty of extra layers and be prepared for cold temperatures. There's a chance that you may see dry loose avalanches on steep, sunny slopes. On Thursday, observers reported plumes of blowing snow from easterly winds recently drifted slabs on a variety of aspects. They were able to trigger cracks in stiff, drifts. With good visibility, no recent avalanches were reported. 

We received about 1.5 to 2 feet of snow out of the most recent storm in the Stevens Pass zone. Snowfall amounts vary depending on elevation, since the storm started out quite warm and wet at lower elevations.  As the storm came to a close it cooled off and deposited a nice thick layer of low-density dry snow at the surface. The low-density snow on top with the heavier snow beneath generally made for "right side up" storm layers, with fewer avalanches and more pleasant surfaces to travel on. Wind-loaded areas are where these circumstances changed, however, and small and large wind slab avalanches were noted in the zone on Tuesday. Reactive wind slabs are expected to continue to be a problem on Wednesday.

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