Snoqualmie Pass

Cloudy skies, light winds, and no additional precipitation should lead to generally safe avalanche conditions. If you’re going to find an avalanche of any consequence, it's probably a small wind drifted pocket hiding on a higher elevation shaded slope.

Sure, we’ve had a few storms over the past week, but they’ve all been fairly small and haven’t created much in the way of avalanche issues. Instead, we’ve been left with a melt freeze cycle on southerly aspects and soft, fluffy snow on shaded slopes. Sunday night’s “storm” fell right in line with the recent pattern. The Pass picked up a modest 2-4 inches of new snow, along with moderate to strong winds. 

There are a few common themes regarding any isolated avalanche on Tuesday. 1. They’ll be more common on shaded slopes above about 4000ft. The snow here is lighter, drier, and could be unstable. 2. Slides may run far on the firm underlying crust. 3. Even though these avalanches should be very small, don’t let moving snow catch you off guard in rocky, complex terrain. 

Strong winds likely scoured some slopes and loaded others. Signs of wind affected snow may be common, but actual wind slabs could be few and far between. Look for textured surfaces and sharp drifts that point towards possible firmer pillow-like slabs. In more sheltered terrain, the snow may be loose and unconsolidated on northerly aspects. On very steep slopes, it may sluff with you. There could be 6 inches or more of soft snow over the firm 3/25 crust in some locations. 

On southerly aspects, a frozen surface shouldn’t soften much with the cloudy skies and cold temperatures. Instead, you could find firm and icy slopes or a breakable crust deepening on aspect and slope angle. 

Just below the recent snow is the bomber 3/25 crust. Believe us, you won’t miss it. This stout layer is a foot or more thick at middle and upper elevations and is largely responsible for our low avalanche danger. Any unstable snow will be above this prominent layer. 

These recent small storms have certainly improved travel, but they haven’t fixed the underlying issue: coverage. The snowpack is still painfully thin, particularly at lower elevations, on south facing slopes, and in the eastern portion of the zone. Open creeks, random holes, downed logs, and exposed rocks make travel tricky. Take your time and expect longer, winding routes.