Observation: Public
Observation Details
Name:
WillObservation Date:
May 7, 2022Submitted:
May 7, 2022Zone or Region:
Snoqualmie PassActivity:
Skiing/SnowboardingLocation:
Kendall peaks areaObserved Avalanches
Did you observe any avalanches?
YesAvalanche Type:
Soft SlabSize:
Size 2: Could bury, injure, or kill a personElevation:
5600Aspect:
SComments:
Observed a natural slide path. Path was from this storm cycle within the last 48hrs and scrubbed off all the newest snow, not on a persistent layer. D2 wet/storm slab.Signs of Unstable Snow
None reported
Observations
Rapidly changing snow conditions present. With the snow level having been near or within a couple thousand feet above the highway this week, snow conditions change rapidly with altitude and require consistent monitoring. I was extremely surprised with how much it transitioned from spring skiing to mid winter conditions within only a couple thousand feet.
Advanced Observations
Observed Avalanche Problem #1:
Storm SlabComments:
All aspects above ~3600' have storm slabs.Three layers are present within the snowpack, there's the newest snow storm slab, a healing storm slab from a previous storm cycle, and the rest of the snowpack which is well settled. New snow storm slab starts at 4" deep around ~3600' and was 10-12" deep at 5400' and with very heavy, soft, warm snow. Healing layer 4-5" thick, rounding.
Newest snow will rollerball and is poorly bonded to the healing layer but is largely soft and does not propagate well. The healing layer is well bonded to the rest of the snowpack but a snowpit test confirmed under severe loading it could still propagate and fail on the interface with the rest of the snowpack.