Bollettino valanghe

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Pericolo valanghe

Sun
Alta quota
3 · Marcato
Limite del bosco
3 · Marcato
Sotto il limite
2 · Moderato
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In sintesi

With strong winds and snow, you could easily trigger avalanches on steep terrain. Avalanches will be larger and more likely where the wind transports snow into deep drifts. Avoid steep slopes, particularly in terrain where you find stiffer wind-affected snow. Enjoy the new snow on low angle terrain in wind-sheltered areas.

Problemi valanghivi

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alta quota
    • Limite del bosco
    • Sotto il limite del bosco
    Probabilità
    Likely
    Dimensione
    1–2

    Another fresh round of snow could form sensitive storm slabs on steep terrain. Recent avalanches or cracks shooting out from your equipment are important signs of instability. Avoid steep, unsupported slopes and convex rollovers in the terrain. Winds slabs will be much larger and more reactive than storm slabs so avoid steep terrain below corniced ridgelines and cross loaded gullies or features. Stick to low angle slopes in sheltered terrain to avoid triggering avalanches while you enjoy the fresh snow.

    (2/25/2025)

    Test slopes producing cracks like in this photo are a key indicator of unstable snow and a signal to seek out lower angle terrain.

    Photo: Katie Warren

Avalanche Discussion

After a brief break in the storm, clouds are just rolling in ahead of the next system. Expect snow with moderate to strong winds throughout the day on Saturday. Storm and wind slabs will build quickly and we expect that there could be some natural wind slab activity at upper elevations during the day.  On Thursday, fresh winds slabs were reactive to ski cuts and the winds actively drifted snow throughout the day. While we expect these older wind slabs are gaining strength, this next storm will likely form fresh sensitive wind slabs. 

The snowpack underwent a major transition since the atmospheric river (AR) storm of February 21-25th. This AR crust is now buried 2-3ft deep and at elevations up to approximately 6000ft, the upper snowpack has a few thin melt-freeze crusts from warm temperatures in early March. On Thursday, I found a few storm interfaces buried 6-10 inches deep that showed signs of instability in snowpack tests. We expect these layers are gaining strength, but with this next storm moving in so quickly, we can't rule out avalanches into Thursday's snow layers. South facing terrain may have a thin surface crust, from a briefly sunny morning on Friday. 

On high elevation, northerly aspects, there's a chance that you could find buried surface hoar, 2-3 feet below the surface. On the 10th, observers in the Foss River drainage reported triggering isolated avalanches, which are suspiciously indicative of this weak layer.

If you make it into the backcountry, please share with us what you find by submitting an observation HERE or on the Avy app. 

Regioni coperte