Stevens Pass

Moisture from an incoming storm will stay north of Stevens Pass, but increasing winds could form small, shallow slabs where you might trigger a slide. Mild temperatures overnight could also cause rollerballs or small wet avalanches. Make sure to assess the consequences of even a very small avalanche in extreme terrain. 

Expect mostly cloudy skies and light to moderate, gusty winds on Saturday. With most of the snow staying well north of the Stevens Pass area, we don't expect the weather to be that impactful for avalanche hazard. That said, cloud cover and mild temperatures could move wet avalanche activity further onto the northern side of the compass. There isn't much snow to slide, but if you observe dry snow becoming wet and heavy, small wet loose avalanches could run in steep terrain. Be aware of your surrounding terrain and the associated consequences of getting pulled off your feet, and don't push wet snow down onto your partners below. 

We don't expect there is much snow left to drift around, but winds could form isolated shallow wind slabs at upper elevations in very steep, confined alpine features. These likely won't pose much of a hazard unless you are in extreme terrain where getting knocked off balance could have serious consequences.

The snowpack underwent a significant transition after the warm atmospheric river event at the end of February. Since then, just a few inches of snow have accumulated, quickly melting and freezing into a crust in sunny terrain. Northern aspects still hold soft, dry snow over a supportable crust and more pleasant travel conditions.  Lower elevations and South, West, and East aspects harbor thick, icy crusts, and long sliding falls are also a significant hazard. Be sure to be prepared with appropriate equipment for travel on these icy surfaces. During the storm, there were notable large slab and wet avalanches throughout the zone. We suspect the rain/snow line was between 6500 and 7000ft during the storm, and since significant liquid water moved through the snowpack and had gone through multiple freeze-thaw cycles since then, we don't have lingering concerns about more deeply buried weak layers. 

If you make it into the backcountry, please share with us what you find by submitting an observation HERE or on the Avy app.