Large Avalanche Releases Inbounds at Crystal Mountain, WA

Originally posted on Powder | By Izzy Lidsky | Last updated Mar 28, 2025 8:42 AM ET

Spring has sprung in the PNW this week, but not in all the good ways.

Rapid warming can cause some pretty big issues and instabilities in the snowpack, which was the case at Crystal Mountain, WA this week.

Ski patrollers temporarily closed the resort's upper mountain on Wednesday evening, March 26, 2025, due to concerns over the snowpack, and it was a good thing they did.

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A natural slide occurred on 'The Throne', a zone accessible via a short traverse and hike from Chair 6, around 7:30pm later that night. The terrain was closed at the time and no one was caught or buried in it. Although no official report has been published on the specs of the slide, it's safe to say it was absolutely massive.

"Over the past few days, we’ve been in our regular spring cycle of natural slides and snowpack instability due to rapid warming," read a post on Crystal Mountain's social media.

At the time of the slide, the avalanche danger was rated as Considerable at elevations above 4500 ft with wet slabs like this one being the top problem. Temperatures in the area stayed above freezing on Tuesday night and into Wednesday and combined with strong sun, allowing water to move through the snowpack, weakening it.

"The thing of it is, predicting when a wet slab will release on a specific slope is nearly impossible. We wouldn't be surprised if you don't see large avalanches on steep slopes tomorrow. But we also wouldn't be surprised to see a very large avalanche that breaks trees and runs thousands of feet into the valley bottoms. How to manage uncertainty like that is a personal decision, but recognize that this problem is still out there and if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, it would likely be unsurvivable. Consider either avoiding steep slopes and their runouts altogether (the safest choice) or strictly limiting your time on and below avalanche paths," read the NWAC forecast for March 26th.

As of Thursday, March 27th, the avalanche rating has dropped to Moderate, but wet slabs still pose a problem until the area cools down.

Crystal Mountain ski patrollers will continue to assess the snowpack and conditions and re-open terrain when possible to do so safely, according to their social media. Snow is also in the forecast for the area.

Chair 6 was destroyed by a massive wet-slab avalanche that was triggered with an explosive back in 2014. The avalanche sheered across the entire bowl, including 'The Throne'. The destruction was widespread and the chair was forced to be rebuilt from the ground up.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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