Boletín de aludes

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Peligro de aludes

Tue
Alta montaña
2 · Moderado
Límite del bosque
1 · Débil
Bajo el límite
1 · Débil
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Desactualizado: este boletín caducó 6 months ago. Estás viendo condiciones pasadas, no el boletín vigente.

Lo esencial

The avalanche danger should be isolated to wind loaded pockets lingering in higher, rocky, exposed terrain. Be leery of pillow-like drifts in the tops of chutes or above rocks and cliffs. Elsewhere, there isn’t much in the way of avalanche concerns.

Problemas de aludes

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alta montaña
    • Límite del bosque
    • Bajo el límite del bosque
    Probabilidad
    Possible
    Tamaño
    1–1.5

    The winds haven’t been impressive with these past few small storms, but speeds have been strong enough to drift snow higher in the terrain and near exposed features. Any resulting wind slabs are probably localized to a few spots like the tops of chutes, along the base of cliffs, or in rocky, complex areas. Take a moment to look carefully for deeper drift before committing to these higher consequence slopes. 

    An intentionally triggered wind slab on Saturday may have failed at the base of the recent snow on weak sugary facets (2/13). This isn’t likely a widespread problem, but persistent grains like these can cause slides to propagate widely or even release above you.

    (2/14/2026)

    An intentionally triggered slab that failed at the base of the new snow in an unskied portion of the ski area. NE, 5300ft. 

    Photo: Summit at Snoqualmie Pro Patrol

Avalanche Discussion

The trickle, trickle, trickle of snow since Friday has certainly helped conditions at the Pass and hasn’t built much in the way of avalanche concerns. Another inch or so of snow on Monday won’t change that. 

At the moment, the snowpack is quite aspect and elevation dependent.

  • At lower elevations, only a few inches of recent snow sit over a thin snowpack of crunchy crusts and mush melt forms. 
  • Southerlies: Sunshine on Saturday formed a thin breakable crust on most southerly slopes and resulted in numerous natural wet loose avalanches. This thin layer caps the recent snow over a much burlier crust complex that includes layers formed over various time periods into one big brick. This thin surface crust weakened on Sunday with the warmer temperatures, but as long as it stays cloudy, there shouldn’t be any avalanche issues on these slopes. 
  • Northerlies: In shaded terrain, generally right side up, soft dry snow has been reported as well bonded to the 2/7 crust. Several avalanche professionals measured around a foot of snow over this layer above 4500ft. Not too shabby given these modest storms. Somewhere in all this soft snow is the 2/13 interface. Other than the one wind slab avalanche from Alpental on Saturday, we haven’t had any reports of facets or surface hoar at this interface. However, these weak grains were observed last week, prior to the storm, and have been buried in other forecast zones. 
  • No matter the aspect, we don’t currently anticipate any concerns below the 2/7 crust complex. 

The recent snow and colder temperatures certainly made it feel a bit more like winter, but they haven’t done much for coverage. Breakable crust, icy slopes, bare ground, and random holes are keeping travelers on their toes. It just takes longer than normal to move through the mountains, and some common routes simply “don’t go.” Despite the date on the calendar, early season conditions persist.

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