Snoqualmie Pass

Wednesday should be a transition day between storms. Steer clear of rocky slopes that contain large cracks in the snow and monitor how the weather is affecting the snowpack throughout the day. If you find that you are sinking into snow past your ankle or see snow shedding from rocks, you should start thinking about avalanches.

Precipitation should taper by Wednesday morning, creating a relative break in the weather before an incoming system reaches our zone Wednesday evening. The pass picked up a quick 0.5 inches of water that came in the form of rain at lower elevations and a few inches of snow higher up. The recent inputs were not enough to drive much new avalanche hazard, but that doesn’t mean that hazard doesn’t exist within the zone. Here are a few things for you to keep in mind if you’re out and about on Wednesday:

• At upper elevations, you could run into some unstable pockets of wind-drifted snow to steer around. These will be more likely on the leeward sides of ridgelines or near rocky features such as the base of cliffs or sides of gullies. 
• A stout surface crust has been reported in many locations, but may not exist everywhere. If you find that you are plunging into the snow past your ankle, that’s an indication that Wet Loose avalanches may be possible on features over 35 degrees. 
• Then there are the lingering Glide issues we have been grappling with for the past several days. On Tuesday, Alpental Pro Patrol reported that a chunk of a glide slope failed naturally mid-day. Crevasse-like glide cracks have been observed on numerous slopes throughout the zone and many continue to grow. Glide avalanches are notoriously difficult to predict and can often occur long after water has been introduced to the snowpack. We expect glide activity to be minimal on Wednesday before an uptick in the action on Thursday. Limiting your time below steep slopes with glide cracks is your best management tool for avoiding these slides.
• Keep an eye on the weather. If the storm arrives early, conditions could change quickly and the avalanche hazard could increase. Cooler temperatures could mean firmer surfaces, making travel difficult or slipping and falling more consequential. 

Unseasonably warm temperatures have impacted the zone for multiple days on the heels of two major avalanche cycles (January 6-7 and 11-12). During this time period, avalanches have trended downward, but recent cornice collapses and Glide avalanches remind us that avalanches are possible even when hazard is minimal. The upper snowpack is considered to be generally strong with alternating layers of firm crusts, weak wet snow, and strong rounded grains. We do not have any identifiable layers of concern at this time.