Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
4 · High
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
3 · Considerable
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Out of date — this forecast expired 8 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Expect very dangerous conditions, with ongoing snow and strong winds building cornices and stiff slabs. Avoid being in or under steep slopes at upper elevations, or anywhere you see recent avalanches or blowing snow. Stick to wind-sheltered terrain and well-supported, short slopes under 35 degrees.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely
    Size
    2–3

    Watch for intense blowing snow and recent avalanches to indicate the danger. Avalanches could run naturally and be very large and destructive. Avoid any wind-loaded or leeward slopes, 35 degrees or steeper. Be aware of overhead terrain. Don't linger below cornices or in the runouts of large avalanche paths. 

    While snow will continue, strong winds will be a major driver of the avalanche danger. Avalanches could break into old snow layers, including a crust that was buried on January 3rd. Observers reported a couple of these bigger avalanches on Wednesday, and we expect more for Thursday.

    (1/7/2026)

    Falling cornices resulted in a very large avalanche on a leeward slope of Rock Mtn. SE, 6,600ft

    Photo: Josh Hirshberg

  • Storm Slabs

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

    In sheltered terrain, you can trigger softer avalanches in the storm snow. Some avalanches may be loose, while larger slides could break as cohesive slabs. Avoid steep convex features and unsupported slopes. Use test slopes and quick snowpack tests to assess the snow before traveling into avalanche terrain. 

    (1/7/2026)

    A large (D2) natural avalanche involving most of the recent storm snow (1-2ft) on a very steep convex feature. This occured before daylight on 1/7. Moonlight, E, 4,300ft. (SS-N-D2-I)

    Photo: Josh Hirshberg

Avalanche Discussion

Thursday will be another blustery, stormy day. Expect another 6-8" by morning, ongoing snow, and strong westerly winds increasing in the second half of the day. Three-day storm totals could reach 3 feet by Thursday evening. In addition to avalanches, deep snow can be dangerous, even fatal, on its own. Travel within sight of your partners, and be ready to dig them out if they fall head-first into the snow or tree wells.

On Wednesday, observers reported large to very large natural and triggered avalanches in both wind-sheltered and leeward slopes. They found 2 feet of new snow in wind-sheltered slopes at low and middle elevations. Weather stations reported 22" of snow since the 6th. 

You can find the January 3rd melt-freeze crust about 3-3.5 feet below the surface. While the overlying snow had generally been well-bonded to the crust, avalanche observations indicate otherwise. While information isn't conclusive, the rapid and severe loading of the crust has produced a couple of deeper avalanches. Besides a couple of distant photos, we don't have many details about the upper elevation snowpack. There's no doubt that wind slabs will be very deep, and cornices could be large and easy to trigger. 

There are a few other crusts in the snowpack that serve as good markers. About  1 foot below the January 3rd crust is a thin December 24th crust, which can be found up to 5500ft. A stout crust from December 18th, should now be near the lower third of the snowpack. 

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