Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Avalanche danger is generally low, but if you find yourself in extreme terrain at upper elevations, you might be able to trigger a small pocket of wind-drifted snow. Use caution around terrain traps, because even if a slide is small, you wouldn't want to get carried off a cliff, through rocks or trees, or buried in a gully.  If the sun pops out or snow gets wet, expect wet avalanches on steep slopes. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1

    Slab avalanches will probably be limited to small drifts from Monday night's snow. We don't think you'll find drifts deeper than 6 inches. If you do find ones nearing 6 inches or deeper, consider steering around them. Wind will back off on Wednesday, so clues for identifying wind-drifted snow will be less obvious. Look for rippled surfaces and thicker "pillows" to help you identify where drifts may have formed. 

    Extreme terrain or high-consequence features below you are where you probably don't want to get caught in an avalanche, even if it's small. If there's more snow where you are, avalanche danger could be higher. 

    Example photo: You may encounter wind-drifted snow with a low chance of triggering a small avalanche, like in this upper elevation terrain in Whitepine Cirque. Note the wind-textured surfaces indicating snow crossloading on these features. Photo: Primomo

Avalanche Discussion

If the sun pops out or if cloud cover gets thinner and you notice snow getting sticky and moist, then wet loose avalanches could result.

The 3 or so inches of snow that fell overnight Monday into Tuesday was accompanied by wind, redistributing it into gullies and around features. Slabs likely developed somewhere, although we haven't yet heard a report of large enough slabs or one that reacted to a human trigger.  A forecaster was out in the Mill Creek area on Monday (observation), and they found the still-wet snowpack was slowly consolidating and gaining strength. They were unable to produce wet loose avalanches, and there wasn't enough new snow to result in slab avalanches.

There's a very slim chance that a glide avalanche, cornice fall, or just an expanse of snow perched on steep rocks could unexpectedly come tumbling down. If you're traveling beneath any of these features, do so hastily, as this is a low likelihood yet high consequence scenario. 

Several inches of rain fell in last week's atmospheric river, resulting in a large avalanche cycle. The biggest concern with this recent period of warm weather and rain is that we haven't gotten much of a freeze since then. Temperatures are finally a little cooler, but the old snow surface is now insulated by a few inches of snow, and it's just not very frozen.

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