Bulletin d’avalanche

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Danger d’avalanche

Fri
Alpin
2 · Modéré
Limite forestière
2 · Modéré
Sous la limite
2 · Modéré
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Périmé — ce bulletin a expiré 5 years ago. Vous consultez des conditions passées, pas le bulletin en cours.

Points saillants

Overnight warm temperatures and rain will start our day off with elevated wet snow avalanche concerns. Avoid steep slopes in areas where you encounter wet, unsupportable snow. Snowlines dropping to pass level and strong winds will increase the dry snow avalanche hazard as the day progresses. Avoid thick, wind drifted deposits of fresh snow in the afternoon as they could avalanche on steep slopes with a human trigger.  

Problèmes avalancheux

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Possible
    Taille
    1–1.5

    You could find a myriad of wet snow problems on Thursday. Your largest concern is small wet loose avalanches. If you find yourself sinking deep into the snowpack, stay away from steep nearby areas. Also keep an eye out for glide cracks on steep slopes, as there is a higher chance they could avalanche on this warm, wet day. Additionally, cornices could have an easier time failing in this weather, so consider avoiding slopes beneath them.

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Possible
    Taille
    1

    Moderate snowfall to pass level midday Thursday, accompanied by strong winds, could lead to wind slab development in new snow at upper elevations in the afternoon. Search for thick drifts in gullies, around rocky features and on leeward slopes. If snow develops into drifts nearing a foot in depth, consider avoiding those drifted areas on steep slopes. This is especially the case if you find cracking, and small isolated slabs easily popping off the snow  layer beneath.

    A shallow wind slab avalanche, similar to what you might be able to triggerThursday afternoon as more snow accumulates and winds shift snow into thicker slabs at upper elevations.

    Photo: Matt Lubar

Avalanche Discussion

Our snowpack was affected extensively by warm temperatures for several days now. The uppermost layers of the snowpack, if not all of it at lower elevations, have transformed into melt forms. Crusts froze, they’ve also broken down with warm temperatures. A lot of these characteristics were very aspect-dependent, with less supportable, wetter snow on southerly aspects, while northerly slopes remained cooler and more firm. Thickly treed areas sustained large, wet tree bombs and variable rain amounts, making for extremely irregular terrain. Many open slopes are now coated with runnels, deep grooves in the crusty snow indicating a large rain or melting event. Lower elevations, especially tomorrow, will be very unsupportable. Take all of these factors into account as you plan your day out on Thursday.

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