Lawinenlagebericht

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Mon
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

This warm weather pattern just continues to maintain wet weak snow around the Pass, especially at mid and upper elevations. Anticipate loose avalanches on any steep slope where you find wet snow deeper than your ankle. Without a solid freeze Saturday night, you could encounter these conditions first thing in the morning.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Loose Wet

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–1.5

    At this point in our spring cycle, many of the loose wet avalanches have already run and the upper snowpack is well on its way to becoming stable. However, without a solid freeze, it’s hard to imagine we’ve reached that point. Instead, warm and occasionally sunny weather seems to maintain wet and sometimes weak snow near the surface. While you may not be able to trigger a loose wet slide on all slopes, anywhere you find wet snow deeper than your ankle should be suspect. So, take the time to step off your skis, snowshoes, board, or sled and see how deep your boot sinks into the snow. When you find wet punchy snow, consider less steep or lower consequence terrain. If the snow doesn’t freeze well Saturday night, you could find these conditions earlier in the morning. While most of these slides should stay small they could still easily hurt you, especially on larger slopes or if the avalanches involved cliffs or a creek. 

    Extended warm patterns like this always make us leery of snow simply falling down. Sometimes cornices collapse and snow sheds from rocky cliff faces. This is just part of our spring transition each year. While there may not be as much hanging snow as winters past, make sure to pay attention to what’s above you and don’t linger underneath overhung cornices or craggy slopes full of snow.

    (3/24/2022)

    Take a moment to step off your mode of travel to see how deeply you are plunging into the snow. If you are sinking in past your ankle, start to think about wet avalanches. 

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

Warm and cloudy weather Saturday night should hamper the ability for the snow surface to freeze solid. While you may encounter a thin breakable crust in the morning, this lack of a solid freeze will likely be a major difference in snow conditions from prior days. As such, you could find that avalanche hazard exist on some slopes even in the morning. 

The upper snowpack has been through several freeze-thaw cycles over the past week. This allowed for significant snowpack settlement and strengthening. On many slopes, you’ll find mostly spring-like snow. On more shaded aspects at mid and upper elevations, you may encounter a more nuanced and dry snowpack with alternating layers of melt-forms and strong rounded grains above the Early March Crust. It's in this same terrain that we found facets buried on March 8. At this point, the strong overlying snowpack should effectively bridge this potential weak layer and make triggering an avalanche on these persistent grains highly unlikely. However, we have less confidence in higher more remote terrain in the eastern portion of this zone. 

Below treeline the effects of a warm and often rainy winter are easily seen. While the snowpack is still relatively deep at Pass level, it diminishes rapidly at lower elevations. At lower elevations, you may encounter challenging travel conditions with wet heavy snow, open creeks, and even bare ground. Fortunately, avalanches in this terrain are unlikely.

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