Deadliest Avalanche in U.S. History Hit Stevens Pass 116 Years Ago
Deadliest U.S. Avalanche Struck Near Stevens Pass 116 Years Ago
One hundred sixteen winters ago, the Cascade Mountains unleashed a force so sudden and violent that it still stands as the deadliest avalanche in U.S. history.
In the early hours of March 1, 1910, a massive wall of snow thundered down Windy Mountain near Stevens Pass, sweeping two Great Northern Railway trains off the tracks and into a canyon below. Ninety-six people were killed. Only 23 survived.
The disaster capped a brutal nine-day blizzard known as the Wellington Blizzard, a storm that battered much of Washington state and reshaped how the region would confront winter in the mountains forever.
A Storm That Would Not Let Go
The winter of 1909–1910 had already been punishing when the storm arrived in late February. Snow fell relentlessly in the Cascades, piling up faster than crews could clear it. Trains became stranded near the small railroad town of Wellington, a settlement perched precariously on a steep, avalanche-prone slope west of Stevens Pass.
For days, passenger and mail trains sat immobilized, their occupants trapped in railcars as snow buried the tracks and high winds howled through the narrow canyon. Then the weather shifted.
Temperatures rose. Rain fell hard on the deep, unstable snowpack. Thunder and lightning cracked overhead, an unsettling soundtrack in the dead of winter. The added weight and moisture weakened the snow clinging to Windy Mountain above the tracks.
Shortly after 1 a.m. on March 1, the mountain gave way.
Wellington 1910
The Avalanche
Witnesses described a roar like continuous thunder. The avalanche was later estimated to be nearly half a mile long, a quarter-mile wide, and between 10 and 14 feet deep. It struck the stationary trains with overwhelming force, tearing them from the rails and hurling them into the ravine below.
Passenger cars splintered. Mail cars crumpled. Snow and debris buried the wreckage under tons of ice and timber.
Rescue efforts began almost immediately, but conditions were nightmarish. Crews dug frantically through packed snow and twisted metal, often by hand. Survivors were pulled from air pockets hours later, injured, frozen, and in shock.
Most were never found alive.
The final death toll reached 96, including passengers, railroad workers, and rescuers. At the time, it ranked among the worst railway disasters in American history and remains the deadliest avalanche ever recorded in the United States.
Wellington’s End
The avalanche sealed the fate of Wellington itself.
Later in 1910, the town was renamed Tye in an attempt to shed its association with the tragedy. The change did little to alter its destiny. The route through the narrow canyon was simply too dangerous.
The Great Northern Railway responded with sweeping changes. Snowsheds were expanded, safety protocols tightened, and eventually a new solution emerged. In 1929, the Cascade Tunnel opened, bypassing the hazardous stretch entirely. The town of Tye was abandoned soon after.
Today, the area is part of the Iron Goat Trail, where hikers can still see remnants of the old rail grade, stone snowsheds, and interpretive signs marking the site of the disaster. The mountains remain steep, silent, and imposing.
A State Shaped by Winter
While the Wellington Blizzard is most infamous for the avalanche, the storm itself affected much of Washington state. It stands among a long list of severe winter events that have shaped Central and Eastern Washington’s history.
In January 1935, parts of Okanogan County were buried under nearly four feet of snow. The winter of 1950 brought widespread heavy snowfall and disruption. Storms in 1965 tested transportation and infrastructure across the region. Spokane was paralyzed by the 1996 Ice Storm, which snapped power lines and plunged thousands into darkness. More recently, the 2012 Pacific Northwest winter storm delivered heavy snow, ice, and high winds to large portions of the state.
Yet none matched the human toll of Wellington.
A Lasting Legacy
The 1910 avalanche changed how railroads and engineers approached mountain travel. It forced recognition that weather, terrain, and technology must be balanced with humility. The Cascade Tunnel stands as a direct result of that lesson, a safer passage carved through solid rock rather than across unstable slopes.
More than a century later, avalanches still claim lives in the Cascades, though forecasting, monitoring, and safety practices have dramatically improved. The Wellington disaster remains a benchmark, a grim reminder of what happens when nature, weather, and human ambition collide.
The snow eventually melts. The mountains endure. And the story of Wellington, buried but not forgotten, still echoes through the pass.
More From KW3
