Lawinenlagebericht

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Fri
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
2 · Mässig
Open full map
Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 2 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

We just wrapped up a major storm event that resulted in natural avalanche activity and created challenging travel conditions. Let the snowpack finish its healing process. Don’t hang out on slopes with large cracks or under rocky ledges where blocks of snow could fail without warning.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Glide Cracks

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    2–2.5

    The bulk of natural avalanche danger should be coming to a close on Thursday. However, it can take time for water to make its way through the snowpack. So your focus should turn to low likelihood, high consequence wet slides such as glides. Look for slopes with crevasse-like cracks or precariously hanging blocks of snow on rocky ledges. They can help you identify locations where one of these unpredictable avalanches could occur. 

    Although freezing rain helped mute avalanche potential at lower elevations, you should still be on guard when you're traveling down low. A larger slide could initiate on slopes above you and travel long distances on the icy surface.

    (12/18/2024)

    A large natural wet avalanche coming out of the Shot 6 area of Alpental Ski Resort. This slide occurred naturally overnight between 12/17 and 12/18 and is a frequent glide producer.

    Photo: Summit at Snoqualmie Pro Patrol

Avalanche Discussion

That was a whopper of a storm we just wrapped up. The Pass received roughly 3.5” of water that came in as snow, rain, and freezing rain. Observations on Wednesday are limited, but indications are that things got messy. A ¼ inch thick freezing rain crust extended as high as 4400 feet, and natural avalanches were reported by The Summit at Snoqualmie Pro Patrol. Backcountry conditions are yet to be reported, but we’ll learn more in the coming days.

On Thursday, we won’t be that far removed from this cycle. Wet avalanches are always tricky to predict and sometimes occur long after the rain has stopped. If the snow surface is wet and punchy, keep them on your radar.

Of course, down low, you’ll have to first contend with that freezing rain crust. A blessing and a curse - the freezing rain likely helped save our lower elevation snowpack by capping it in ice and protecting it from the soaking rain. At middle and upper elevations, be prepared for a variety of surfaces partially due to nighttime cooling and daytime warming. 

This storm certainly didn’t help our early-season snowpack. Difficult travel is expected with hazards such as firm crusts, frozen avalanche debris, swollen creeks, open holes, and exposed rocks/logs. In certain terrain, there’s a chance you could slip and go for a long uncontrolled slide. So travel with the appropriate gear and default to lower-angled slopes if the surface is firm and slick.

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