Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago.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

Highlights

Conditions should only deteriorate with daytime warming on mid and lower elevation slopes. Use timing to your advantage and plan to steer around very steep slopes as warming temperatures and rain break down surface crusts. Evaluate the bond between the new snow and old surface if venturing up to the highest elevations, here theres a chance you could still trigger a storm slab in isolated locations. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    On Saturday, we'll pick up where we left off with wet snow problems. Heavy, slow moving wet loose slides could churn downhill on a slick crust. Conditions should be more stable first thing in the morning with a weak surface freeze, and at higher elevations where temperatures are cooler. As the daytime warms, rain falls, and the surface crust melts down, wet instability will slowly rise. Look for rollerballs and recent fan shaped avalanches as indicators of this type of instability. If snow is moist and tends to entrain when it runs downhill, then move away from steep slopes. Glide cracks may also be opening up, stay away from these if you find them.

    At the highest elevations, you might still find an unstable slab of snow in very isolated pockets. Check for strong over weak structure with quick hand pits as you gain elevation. If you find signs of instability such as shooting cracks or fresh, slab avalanches, then beware of very steep slopes nearby.

    Example wet loose avalanches from Snoqualmie on Friday. Photo: Patrick O'Moore

Avalanche Discussion

Look for 4-6" of new snow in the zone, with moist gloppy snow being the norm except for at the highest elevations. On Friday, an observer reported a round of wet loose avalanches in some frequent locations such as Lichtenberg Mountain. The slides were mainly small, but we also didn't get enough observations to get a great handle on if/what other avalanche activity occurred. Over at Snoqualmie, they had similar amounts of precipitaiton and a seemingly widespread wet loose cycle. Some of these were larger.

Many slopes hold a crust of sorts beneath the recent storm layer. You may find up to a foot of recent snow over a crusts from the 6th, and from the 31st. However, on northerly aspects above 6,000ft, you could find weaker dry snow beneath the warm, dense storm snow. Last week, observers on Jim Hill found buried surface hour about 1 foot below the surface near the 3/31 interface. At lower elevations, the snowpack is well on its way to melting out for the year.

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