Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Another storm rolls through our mountains overnight on Monday, bringing more snow and wind. You could easily trigger large avalanches where the wind blows snow into deep drifts, and with slick crusts below the recent snow, smaller avalanches are also possible in sheltered terrain. Choose conservative terrain on low-angle slopes to avoid triggering avalanches. 

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

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

    Another round of snow, with slightly cooler temperatures and strong winds, will sustain dangerous avalanche conditions. Where the wind drifts snow deeper, these avalanches may be large enough to bury you. Consequently, the highest hazard will be at upper elevations near ridgelines, steep gullies, and confined alpine features. Storm slab avalanches in sheltered terrain at lower elevations might be small but could easily cause injuries that ruin your season. Precipitation and winds begin to taper in the morning, so we expect heightened avalanche activity during the first part of the day. Avoid slopes over 35°, particularly along ridgelines with deep drifts. 

    It won't be particularly cold, so where wet, heavy snow falls on the slick Solstice Crust at lower elevations, you could also trigger wet loose avalanches. While these tend to be more predictable than slab avalanches, they could be sensitive to triggers. Stay vigilant about managing your terrain and where you stop, start, and travel in relation to your backcountry partners. 

    (12/23/2024) Skiers intentionally triggered this windslab on the N slope of Lichtenberg Mountain on Monday. It was small but propagated widely across the terrain, failing within the new storm snow. 

    SS-AS-R1-D1.5-S

Avalanche Discussion

A similar storm on Monday night is in store for Stevens Pass. The southeasterly component of the storm doesn't generally favor the Cascade passes, but we could pick up 6-10" of snow or more if we're lucky.

Observations on Monday reported a generally favorable bond to the Solstice Crust. However, even if avalanches fail on storm interfaces, they could become large by entraining snow and running on the crust. On Monday, there were many reports of wind and storm slab avalanches. Backcountry travelers and Stevens Pass Patrol triggered some avalanches, while others ran naturally. As the sun warmed steep south faces, observers reported natural and triggered wet loose avalanches on these slopes. These sunny slopes will likely have a new melt-freeze crust on the surface, which may be another reactive sliding surface for Monday night's snow.

On Monday, an NWAC forecaster in the Lichtenberg area reported natural wind slabs that ran overnight and wet loose avalanches off the steep rocky terrain of the SW face of Lichtenberg. Other observers in this area reported triggering a shallow wind slab that propagated widely around terrain features on a north aspect. This avalanche failed on the recent interface (2/22) down 4 inches. An NWAC forecaster also reported this interface to be reactive in snow stability tests. They found 6-7 feet of snow on a north aspect at 5000ft, with the Solstice Crust buried just over 1ft. 

If you're in the mountains, let us know what you see by submitting an observation.

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