Lawinenlagebericht

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Sun
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

As you move higher in the terrain, you’ll run into more wind-affected snow and greater avalanche danger. With winds frequently switching directions, you may find slabs on a variety of aspects, including windward. Watch out for firm pillow-like drifts in steeper terrain.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Likely
    Größe
    1–2

    Winds continue to shift direction around the dial, and with so much soft snow, it’s easy for slabs to build quickly. You could find wind loaded pockets on lots of different aspects and may even see them on both sides of the same ridge. Light, fluffy powder could hide some of them from view. 

    Pay attention as you move into more open terrain. Look for changes in how the snow feels or how deep it is underneath you. Large drifts, cornices, and the snow knocked out of trees can all give you clues to potential wind loading. You’re most likely to encounter a wind slab along ridgelines, near the base of cliffs, and in the tops of chutes. Steer around these firmer wind slab pockets. With such a complex and overlapping loading pattern, it may be easier to just seek out more wind-sheltered terrain to avoid this problem.

    (3/1/2024)

    A small natural wind slab avalanche on Snow Lake Divide: SE, 4900ft. Note the other picture with a similar slide on the opposite side of the ridge. 

    Photo: Trevor Kostanich

Avalanche Discussion

Preliminary Report: An avalanche accident occurred on Friday, March 1, near Darland Mt in the Ahtanum Meadows area. Two snowmobilers were involved in the slide. One rider was fully buried and killed. The avalanche occurred around 6600ft in a generally east-facing bowl. NWAC staff will visit the accident site on Saturday. Our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and community.

We’re in a bit of a persistent weather pattern as we start the weekend. Snow showers, shifting winds, and sun breaks… What precipitation does fall will likely be very low density and could quickly accumulate several inches of snow despite the modest amounts of water. This new snow probably won’t amount to much of a hazard. Instead, the moderate ridgeline winds will play a bigger role in driving avalanche danger. Sun breaks could allow for temperatures to rise quickly. If this occurs, you could see snow shed from rocks and trees. These snowballs could trigger small loose avalanches in very steep terrain. 

Below 4500 ft, only a few inches of snow covers the recent rain crust. As a result, generally safe avalanche conditions exist at lower elevations. Above this elevation, travel improves greatly. Several people from all over the zone confirmed this on Friday. 

While most of our concerns are in the upper snowpack, it’s worth noting that many surrounding zones are dealing with persistent slab problems (East Central, East South, West South). In these areas, slides are failing on deeper layers at or just above the Early Feb Crust. The only suspected avalanches on these older layers near Snoqualmie likely occurred on Wednesday during the peak of the warmup. If you’re in more far-flung parts of the zone, take these layers into account before stepping into big avalanche terrain.

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