Tagged: Stevens Pass

The air bag credited with saving a woman from an avalanche at Stevens Pass is starting to become standard equipment for back country skiers in the Northwest. The expert skiers who seek the thrill of more remote areas are no strangers to signs of avalanches.

The conditions that led to fatal avalanches in the Washington Cascades could get worse this week. Three expert skiers died near Stevens Pass on Sunday and a snowboarder died in a separate avalanche near Snoqualmie.

Mark Moore is the director of the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center. He says a crystalline layer of frost prevented new snow from bonding with the bottom layers. He estimates that led to hundreds if not thousands of avalanches in remote areas over the weekend.

It's Friday, April 1st. Here's what's making headlines around the Northwest:

• Work to Clear Avalanches on Highway 2 Continues
• Flood Update: Snohomish River To Crest This Morning
• WTO Ruling on Boeing: May Not Mean Much
• UW's Thomas Opts for NBA Draft

Stevens Pass Still Closed

Four avalanches, one of them covering US 2 at Stevens Pass in 15-feet of snow, shut down cross state traffic along the busy corridor Thursday, and the road remains closed indefinitely. A fifth slide forced crews to retreat yesterday afternoon.

Maybe you don't ski or snowboard, or even particularly like the snow. But there's so much enjoyment from watching the beautiful images captured by Herald of Everett reporters on Wednesday.  It was opening day at Stevens Pass.