Boletín de aludes

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Peligro de aludes

Mon
Alta montaña
3 · Notable
Límite del bosque
3 · Notable
Bajo el límite
2 · Moderado
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Desactualizado: este boletín caducó 2 years ago. Estás viendo condiciones pasadas, no el boletín vigente.

Lo esencial

Our stormy week continues at Snoqualmie Pass. Don't get lulled to sleep by the soggy conditions down low, you'll find more avalanche potential up high. The snowpack has been through a lot, so give it time to heal by avoiding slopes over 35 degrees where you're more likely to trigger a slide.

Problemas de aludes

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alta montaña
    • Límite del bosque
    • Bajo el límite del bosque
    Probabilidad
    Likely
    Tamaño
    1–2

    Above this week's rain/snow line, a different landscape exists. Drier snow, and plenty of it, likely awaits you at these elevations if you can make it up there. Expect to find multiple potential failure points in this week's snow. You can use test slopes or hand pits as you travel, but they likely will only give you information about the very top of the snowpack. You won't be able to adequately investigate layers from earlier this week that haven't had a moment to rest. For that, you'll need your shovel. Look for heavy snow over weak snow (upside-down snowpack) or easy failures in cohesive blocks to help indicate a slab avalanche problem. Above the rain/snow line, avoid slopes over 35 degrees where triggering a slab avalanche is more likely. 

    (12/27/2024)

    A shovel tilt test can help highlight interstorm layer in this week's snow and give an indication of slab potential.

    Photo: Andy Harrington

  • Loose Wet

    • Alta montaña
    • Límite del bosque
    • Bajo el límite del bosque
    Probabilidad
    Possible
    Tamaño
    1–2

    Down low, it's wet. A poor overnight refreeze is expected which could keep the snowpack wet and punchy on Sunday. However, freezing levels will be lowering - which typically helps freeze the snowpack from the top down. These competing weather factors don't make wet avalanches a slam dunk for Sunday, but our hunch is that you'll still find plenty of wet snow out there. If you do, don't get caught off guard by a wet slide on steep slopes.

    (12/28/2024)

    Small wet loose activity on a road cut in the eastern half of the zone near Stampede Pass.

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

The Pass has received roughly 5 inches of water (and counting) since Christmas Day. A constant parade of storms has impacted the zone, delivering snow, wind, and unfortunately, rain. The past few days have seen the rain/snow line hover between 4000-5000 feet, solidly in the middle elevation band. This has resulted in a two-elevation band kind of forecast, with wet problems below the rain/snow line and dry problems above. As we look ahead to Sunday and beyond, freezing levels should be dropping with continued precipitation, so hopefully, snow will return to most elevations with time. 

Backcountry travelers, NWAC forecasters, and avalanche professionals were all out and about Saturday and one theme rang true for all of them - wet! Wet snow surfaces, wet clothes, and wet trees shedding snow. We don't have any reports of groups making it to upper elevations where drier snow and more widespread avalanche danger likely existed, but a few wet avalanches were observed lower down. 

On Friday, NWAC forecasters on Kendall Peak found that interstorm layers from this week's snow were highlighted during small column tests and that the Solstice Crust was buried 2-3 feet below the surface at mid-elevations. All slab avalanche activity should be confined to the snow above this stout interface.

Coverage at lower elevations has vastly improved this week. We're no longer talking about ice or bare dirt. We're still dealing with plenty of hazards though - open creeks and heavy wet snow being the main culprits. 

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