Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago.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 may still be able to trigger an avalanche in lingering drifted slabs from east wind. Expect cloudy skies, warming temperatures, and variable snow surfaces.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    Steer around reactive pillows of snow and sculpted features on leeward slopes steeper than 35 degrees. Watch for indicators of cracks that shoot through the snow and deeper drifts of snow that break under a person's weight. While avalanches are getting difficult to trigger, the most likely place to trigger one will be on steep, wind-loaded slopes at upper elevations.

    Open slopes exposed to east wind will harbor deeper drifted slabs. The east winds impact very particular slopes depending on how valleys channel the wind and the exposure of the slope. Many of these slabs will now be unreactive and won't crack under your weight. Choose drifted features in safe terrain to test how easily they crack or break. Stay observant to which slopes have been loaded by the wind and where they're reactive to your weight.

    (1/19/2024)

    A skier breaks off a chunk of a freshly drifted slab. Skyline areas, ENE, 5,300ft

    Photo: Josh Hirshberg

Avalanche Discussion

On Saturday, observers on Lichtenberg Mtn reported areas with significant wind-affected snow (recent east winds) were mostly difficult to trigger or crack. They also reported a zipper crust was most pronounced above 5,000ft with soft snow and good skiing below. On Friday, observers in the Skyline Lake area reported cracking in fresh wind slabs at low and middle elevations and some light rain in the afternoon. 

Stevens Pass picked up over a foot of new snow on the 17th with intense snowfall rates and periods of strong west wind. Observers reported numerous triggered and natural avalanches in the new snow. It's been 10 days since some very large avalanches ran on deeper weak layers within the Solstice crust sandwich.  Heavy snow on the 17th could have been enough to re-activate these deeper weak layers, especially in the eastern end of the zone. If you see evidence of any recent avalanches, please submit an observation. The Solstice crust is now at least 5 feet below the surface in much of the zone. The weak layers consist of faceted melt forms, and some snowpack tests have given sudden and propagating results.

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