Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

You can trigger small avalanches where the southeast wind will new and recent snow.  Snow cover is still shallow; watch for hitting shallowly buried rocks and logs. For Monday, expect southeast wind with moderate snow totals. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    If you find signs of instability, like cracks shooting through the snow or wind drifts that break easily with a person's weight, stay off leeward slopes over 35 degrees. Look plumes of blowing snow and visual clues like sharp wind drifts, sculpted snow surfaces, and pillows of drifted snow to indicate which slopes have been loaded by the wind. Steer around fresh drifts and stick to lower-angle or wind-sheltered slopes. 

    Another 4" of snow and southeast winds may be enough to form new slabs on wind-exposed slopes. Easterly wind can have localized effects on terrain that accelerates it through passes and gaps, and it can form slabs lower on slopes.  Strong westerly winds formed the bulk of the existing wind slabs on Friday during a warm and windy storm. These slabs could be up to 1 foot deep. Aside from due south aspects, you may find reactive conditions, as new snow may be resting on a layer of surface hoar or weak snow surrounding thin crusts.

    (12/23/2023)

    Wind affected snow above 6,200ft on Rock Mtn.

    Photo: Matt Primomo

Avalanche Discussion

On Sunday, weather stations at the top of Stevens Pass picked up a trace of snow with moderate southeast wind. On Saturday, observers on Rock Mountain found 2" of new snow near 3,000ft. Above 6,000ft, they found 6" of new snow with fresh wind drifts up to 1 foot deep. They reported a small natural slab avalanche on a steep southerly aspect around 6,400ft, as well as a few small loose dry avalanches that occurred during the day in rocky, extreme, sun-exposed slopes. At mid-elevations, observers reported fewer wind effects and isolated rollerballs. Although travel conditions have improved a bit, coverage is still thin in many places. Beware of hitting exposed rocks, stumps, and creeks.

Under the 5" of new snow that fell on Friday is a mix of crusts, weak facets, and surface hoar. The storm started off warm with some version of rain or liquid precipitation up to about 5,000ft. It's likely that whatever was on the surface at that elevation on Friday morning (surface hoar in some places) got wet and transformed into melt forms. On steeper due south slopes, the new snow fell on a stout crust that's the combination of rain and sun events from the past 1-2 weeks. Elsewhere, the 3-6 inches of snow below the 12/22 interface is a series of thin, brittle crusts and weak, faceted layers.

Stevens Pass Ski Area is open. Check uphill policies HERE. You can contribute to the forecast! Let us know what you found by submitting an observation HERE. 

Regions covered