Bollettino valanghe

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Pericolo valanghe

Sun
Alta quota
2 · Moderato
Limite del bosco
1 · Debole
Sotto il limite
1 · Debole
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Non aggiornato — questo bollettino è scaduto 7 months ago. Stai vedendo condizioni passate, non il bollettino in corso.

In sintesi

Sunshine will give way to rain and high-elevation snow on Saturday. Where you find fresh, heavy snow, expect that you could trigger small wet avalanches. In most areas, avalanche concerns should be limited to overhead hazards from steep rocks shedding snow. Limit time spent under any overhead hazards and look for rollerballs as the first clue for wet avalanches. 

Problemi valanghivi

  • Loose Wet

    • Alta quota
    • Limite del bosco
    • Sotto il limite del bosco
    Probabilità
    Possible
    Dimensione
    1

    Our snowpack has already taken quite a beating from recent warm temperatures, and it is now a robust mix of melt forms and crusts. However, at the highest elevations, there may be some softer snow where rain could produce wet avalanches. More likely, you'll be able to push small wet loose avalanches in the fresh, heavy snow. While these avalanches will likely be small, they could run longer than expected on the underlying crusts. Rollerballs are the first sign of wet avalanches in fresh snow. In older, saturated snow consider how deeply your boot sinks into the snow. If you're deeper than your calf, wet avalanches are more likely. Either observation is a good reason to choose lower-angle terrain. 

    If there are still overhanging cornices or rocks holding onto snow, the rain may be the tipping point to failure. So avoid lingering beneath any overhead hazards. 

    (1/18/2025)

    Cliffs that still hold snow may be more likely to shed with additional rain. 

    Photo: Josh Hirshberg

Avalanche Discussion

A change is in the air, just not the one we were hoping for. A storm may bring dry snow to somewhere well into the upper elevations, but expect mostly rain throughout the Stevens Pass zone. The 2-4" of snow that falls at upper elevations may drift into shallow wind slabs. Not likely a significant avalanche concern, but something to keep in mind if you're traveling into alpine areas, particularly in extremely steep terrain. Actively blowing snow, shooting cracks, and textured surfaces are good clues to identifying potentially wind-loaded slopes. It's not a powerful storm, but it's certainly not going to help our already thin snowpack at lower elevations.

There hasn't been any recent snow since the last round of high elevation rain. Our snowpack should be able to handle the limited water content without a significant increase in wet avalanche activity. Recently, NWAC forecasters and other professionals found about 10" of moist snow over the January 28th crust. The snowpack at mid and lower elevations is a layer cake of moist melt forms between multiple melt-freeze crusts. At upper elevations, a surface crust overlays moist melt forms down to the January 28th melt-freeze crust. 

Snow depths vary due to the lack of snow during January. Particularly on sunny slopes, you can find less than 3 feet of snow and patches of bare ground.  You can expect deeper coverage on the north half of the compass, with 6-8 feet of snow on the ground above 5,000ft. The mountains feature plenty of open holes, creeks, and exposed rocks. 

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