WA Pass

Thank you to Harlan with WSDOT for the opportunity to observe avalanche control at Washington Pass. Several large avalanche paths can affect the highway under the Liberty Bell group. This mitigation work ensures worker safety and eventually commuter safety. Artillery rounds initiated several wet loose avalanches which added to the debris piles over the highway. While wet surface snow around 7500' seemed ready to move, the targeted cornices stubbornly remained by and large. There were numerous recent D1 to D2 wet loose avalanches in the surrounding terrain on all aspects. Some were initiating as high as 8000'. Two days ago terrain this high wasn't producing avalanches. While it has now warmed up enough for upper elevation wet loose avalanches, cornices up high haven't started to fall or even react to artillery. 

At lower elevations the snowpack is nonexistent or entirely wet and pretty well transitioned to larger melt forms. In the mid elevations water makes it about 40cm down and pools atop the 3/22 crust. The upper elevations started getting wet in the last two days and are reacting with wet loose avalanches.