Lawinenlagebericht

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Sat
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 4 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Winter-like conditions consisting of snow showers and periods of gusty winds should continue at Snoqualmie Pass on Friday. As you ascend in elevation, you could find some wind-loaded slopes to avoid. If springtime weather is able to break through the clouds, keep an eye out for signs of wet avalanches that could signal an increase in avalanche potential.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Wind-loaded terrain should continue to be the most likely location for you to trigger an avalanche on Friday. Swirling winds in recent days easily redistributed snow and you could find these unstable pockets on a variety of aspects, including areas where you’re not used to seeing them. Fresh drifts or changes in the snow depth as you travel are good clues you can use to help identify wind-loaded areas to avoid. With continued snow and wind trickling in, slabs could be hidden just out of sight below the surface. If you suspect a slope to be wind-loaded, best to avoid it by seeking out simpler terrain.

    (4/13/2022)

    Textured snow surfaces show that the wind has been drifting the snow, possibly into nearby Wind Slabs.

    Photo: Craig Muderlak

Avalanche Discussion

April will continue to deliver snowfall to the mountains around Snoqualmie Pass over the next few days. Although the predicted water numbers for Friday aren’t impressive by our recent standards, each wave of precipitation will incrementally increase the amount of snow over the 4/8 crust. We are currently measuring around 2 feet of recent storm snow over this interface at lower elevations and closer to 3.5 feet of snow at upper elevations. This snow has been settling and stabilizing in recent days and is generally right-side-up, cold, and winter-like. You can use the easily identifiable 4/8 layer as the baseline to focus your observations on Friday to look for the existence of any potential weak layers. You may find a few density breaks or thin sun crusts depending on what aspect you are recreating. In areas lacking a slab, you may have to manage Dry Loose avalanches on steeper slopes. We do not anticipate any avalanches breaking below the 4/8 crust at this time. 

The real question mark in our minds is when the pass will flip back to springtime weather with strong temperatures and sunshine. Whenever this occurs, expect the cold dry snow to weaken and produce wet loose avalanches. On Wednesday, some wet activity was reported in the Alpental Valley due to brief sunbreaks, and a bit of a crust started to form. On Thursday, this crust was identified on slopes that see direct sunshine by avalanche professionals on Mount Snoqualmie. Similar sun breaks could occur on Friday as we await the “big warmup”, whenever that may be. In the meantime, it doesn’t take much sunshine this time of year to start producing some rollerballs and isolated loose slides. If you notice a change in the weather or snowpack toward warmer and wetter while you’re out in the mountains, you’ll know it's time to avoid steep sunny slopes.

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