Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Avalanche danger will slowly rise as snow falls throughout the day and winds increase. Your day may start with smaller, less reactive slabs, but as you find the wind redistributing snow and growing thicker slabs, start traveling more conservatively, 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    An incremental few inches of snow here and there have kept continuous subtle wind slab development happening at upper elevations. You'll still be able to find these slabs, especially as you make your way above treeline. These concerns should be enough to keep you on your toes and not blindly jumping onto steep, wind-drifted slopes, as it's possible that they could avalanche in new snow layers. This could mean failures happening a couple inches deep, or possibly a foot or more, depending on the layers the wind deposited on the slope.

    The day may start with Moderate danger, but with more snow and afternoon wind the danger could increase to Considerable, where human-triggered avalanches are likely. When you notice wind moving snow around and actively drifting it, it's time to take a step back and reevaluate. Steer around wind-loaded slopes greater than 35 degrees, and avoid traveling on steep slopes if you cause long, shooting cracks or see recent avalanches. 

    Wind slabs like this will likely develop as the day progresses.  Note the hard, chunky debris.

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

Starting Sunday afternoon, we're in for continuous snowfall through midweek, although the tap isn't going to really turn on until Tuesday when we see snow really starting to stack up quickly. Avalanche danger will increase as more snow deposits over the next few days. 

There are a couple crusts in the upper snowpack that we're keeping our eyes on as more snow (weight) is added to the snowpack. One, from January 27th, found at mid-elevations, is  thinner and more brittle and buried 6 inches to a foot down. A more stout, clear ice lens that formed around the MLK holiday weekend, is buried about 1-2 ft below the surface. Recent cold and dry weather contributed to weaker snow above and below these crusts, which is noticeable to varying degrees depending on where we dig. We haven't seen truly alarming results on these layers in pit tests, but we'll continue to keep an eye on these weaker older layers during this storm, as there is a chance they could wake up with a large load on top. 

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