Snoqualmie Pass

Travel conditions continue to be the biggest hazard you'll face in the mountains around Snoqualmie Pass. Bring the right tools to travel safely and give yourself plenty of time. Although the weather is shifting slightly, don't expect much change in the snowpack or avalanche potential. 

We're in a rinse-and-repeat pattern at Snoqualmie Pass. Although the weather will change slightly as our ridge flattens, you won't notice much change in the snowpack or avalanche conditions. 

The only difference is the higher potential for slopes that receive direct sunshine to soften, but they still won't reach the threshold for creating wet avalanches. The winds will be a little stronger, but there isn't enough snow available for transport to worry about wind slabs. If you really go hunting amongst the higher peaks and steep dark north faces, you might find a tiny wind-drifted pillow that could fail above the 1/10 crust. 

So we're left with travel conditions being the greatest hazard in the mountains. Out in the open, surfaces are generally smooth but highly variable. Pockets of softer snow are interspersed with breakable crusts and icy slopes. The real problem at the Pass is getting to those open slopes. At this point, rugged travel at lower elevations is well documented. Tree bombs, ice blocks, and tracks combine into a frozen coral reef. Then there are the open creeks, random holes, and avalanche debris. Don’t be in a rush traveling through these potentially dangerous conditions. 

At the moment, we aren’t concerned about any lingering layers in the snowpack. We’re focused on areas of softer snow over the extremely stout 1/10 crust. Reports of widespread surface hoar and near-surface facets continue to pour in. They're fun to look at now, but we'll see if they come back to bite us whenever our next storm arrives.