Snoqualmie Pass

Celebrate the New Year with a lovely, sparkly snow surface on Monday! While we expect generally safe avalanche conditions, maintain good travel habits. Discuss your observations and only expose one person at a time to any avalanche slope.

Happy New Year from our team at NWAC! 

A cool and partly cloudy day should continue to provide a mostly stable snowpack and all but eliminate avalanche concerns. We’ve seen “Low danger” at the Pass for several days. Even still, there are a few things to keep in mind.

During periods of extended sunshine, you may trigger rollerballs or a very small loose slide on steep southerly aspects. They should be relatively inconsequential, but don’t get surprised in extreme terrain. 

If you decide to head to the tops of the higher peaks, you might find a few isolated wind-drifted pockets. They may hide under a few inches of softer snow. Clues like rime, drifts, and cornices can help you anticipate loaded areas. In both cases, even a tiny avalanche would take you for a rough and unforgiving ride. 

The most intriguing recent observation was a natural wet slab avalanche on the north side of Chair Peak. On Saturday, an avalanche professional traveling in the area found the 100ft wide, 8-12in deep slide. We don’t know what layer failed, but the depths are similar to the 12/22 crust/facet matrix found nearby last week. This avalanche is a bit of a head-scratcher, and doesn’t align with other observations. It's a great example of why, even with Low Danger, we should always use good travel techniques in avalanche terrain. 

At lower elevations, the snowpack consists mostly of melt forms and alternating bands of frozen and wet snow. As you ascend, the upper snowpack becomes drier and layered. A new crust (12/30) formed as temperatures cooled into New Year’s Eve. You’ll find it below the most recent snow (1-4 in). At lower elevations, the crust may be more breakable. Other prominent layers in the upper snowpack include the 12/25 ice lens and a series of thin crust and sugary facets (12/22). This layer was observed about 8-12” below the snow surface in the Alpental Valley and near Crystal Springs. 

There is some optimism in the New Year! Folks continue to report good travel conditions at middle elevations. However, numerous obstacles and potentially variable snow surfaces often make even simple routes much more demanding. Let's hope for lots of powder in 2024!