Lawinenlagebericht

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Tue
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
3 · Erheblich
Unterhalb
3 · Erheblich
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 2 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Wet avalanches are extremely difficult to predict. This makes them particularly dangerous and challenging to navigate during these prolonged warm sunny periods. Avoidance is your only tool. Look for routes that minimize or eliminate travel on or under steep snowy slopes.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Loose Wet

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

    Debris from a prolonged wet loose avalanche cycle covers many slopes regardless of aspect or elevation. You’ll probably see more occur on Monday. The majority of these slides only involved the surface snow. A weak frozen crust will limit this hazard in the morning, but as it melts, you might trigger these avalanches, or they could release naturally. 

    You may encounter the much scarier version of this problem that gouges into older snow, grows much larger, and runs far downhill. These bigger wet loose slides often occur in large rocky terrain where slides have room to gain momentum. Stay out of these areas and limit any time you spend in their runouts. It’s hard to say exactly when the scales will tip toward this more dangerous type of avalanche.

    (3/17/2024) Kendall, 4pm.

    Image CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 Photo: Charlie Hagedorn

  • Glide Cracks

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

    A few shed-style avalanches occurred overnight on Saturday. As we continue in this prolonged warm period, more will probably release. Glide avalanches, cornice collapses, snow shedding from rocks, and wet slabs all present a unique overhead hazard. While you might not trigger these avalanches, you certainly want to avoid them. Unlike the smaller wet loose slides, these avalanches don’t care about the time of day. They could happen at any hour.

    Pay close attention to the terrain above you. Choose routes that help you limit any time you spend below crevasse-like cracks, looming cornices, or snow covered faces.

    (3/17/2024)

    This glide avalanche released sometime during the night. Rockface, Alpental.

    Photo: Alpental Patrol

Avalanche Discussion

We’re in a prolonged period of warm sunny weather and elevated avalanche danger. With each additional hot day, our uncertainty grows. This type of wet avalanche cycle is the most difficult situation we forecast. Pinpointing exactly when, where, what type, and how big avalanches will be is nearly impossible. There isn’t a simple observation that lets you know the scales are tipping. All of these factors make this setup very challenging to manage as a backcountry traveler. 

Sunday night will be our fourth in a row above freezing. Often three nights is a benchmark for a notable increase in avalanche activity. As of this writing, the cycle has been widespread but rather small. 

Two notable avalanches occurred at Alpental on Saturday night. A glide released on Rockface, and a cornice failed above Shot 6 entraining snow on the slope below. Both are indicative of shed-style avalanches you may encounter. Other observations continue to highlight the ongoing wet loose activity that began Thursday. 

This multi-day cycle isn’t finished yet, and only time will tell when peak danger actually occurred.

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