Bulletin d’avalanche

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
Voir sur la carte

Danger d’avalanche

Sat
Alpin
3 · Marqué
Limite forestière
3 · Marqué
Sous la limite
2 · Modéré
Open full map
Périmé — ce bulletin a expiré 3 years ago. Vous consultez des conditions passées, pas le bulletin en cours.

Points saillants

On Friday, snow and wind will begin tapering by daybreak but dangerous conditions will remain. It will be easy to trigger avalanches near and above treeline where the wind drifts stiff slabs of snow. At lower elevations, avalanches are possible in open, steep, and wind-exposed terrain, though elsewhere it will be difficult to trigger slides.

Problèmes avalancheux

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Likely
    Taille
    1–2

    Westerly wind will remain gusty through Friday. Stronger wind and snow overnight drifted slabs near and above treeline, making it easy for you to trigger avalanches. Watch for patterns of drifting and any actively blowing snow to point out the leeward, loaded slopes. You can also use a probe or pole to feel for deeper, stiffer drifts of snow. Steer around steep convexities and pillowed drifts on wind-loaded slopes. You can always choose safer terrain at lower elevations or on wind-sheltered slopes. Below treeline, there's a chance for triggering avalanches on steep, wind-exposed features, especially where west wind gets channeled through the terrain. Otherwise, in sheltered terrain and lower elevations, you may be able to trigger loose avalanches or none at all.

    (3/2/2023)

    Human-triggered wind slab which propagated about 10m uphill as the skier traversed across the slope below. Skyline area, 5200', SE. SS-ASu-R1-D1-I

    Photo: Charlotte Guard

Avalanche Discussion

On Thursday, observers triggered a small wind slab avalanche on an east aspect in the Skyline area, just below a ridge. See photo above. On Tuesday, observers reported a large snowboarder-triggered slide on a steep, wind-loaded southeast aspect just outside Stevens Pass Resort boundary. The slide was approximately 70ft wide and 2.5ft deep, running on a crust that was suspected from mid-February (the Valentine's Day Crust, or Superbowl Crust, depending on your preference). WSDOT also completed mitigation along the highway on Tuesday and triggered a number of small slides. There was one larger slide, triggered using a large explosive, that was fairly wide and over 2ft deep. This slide may have run on the same crust as the snowboarder-triggered one. The debris covered all four lanes of Hwy 2.

 

 

 

Régions couvertes