Northwest Avalanche Center

Observation: Public

All Observations

Observation Details

Name:
Bryce Poplawsky
Observation Date:
February 19, 2023
Submitted:
February 19, 2023
Zone or Region:
Snoqualmie Pass
Activity:
Skiing/Snowboarding
Location:
Cache Couloir/Snow lake divide

Signs of Unstable Snow

Did you see shooting cracks? 
Yes, Isolated
Did you experience collapsing or whumpfing? 
No

Observations

Headed out to check out the cache couloir this morning. Surprisingly, we never really encountered any wind over 5-10 mph, it was quite calm and snowing lightly throughout the morning. There was about 3-4 inches of new snow since yesterday above source lake. We observed very isolated wind slabs on small south aspects on ridge lines, but nothing widespread. We were able to get a little bit of cracking on one test slope, but otherwise observed a lot less wind loading than we expected. The new snow was heavy but was skiing surprisingly well, especially on north aspects where there was no crust underneath.

Media

Evidence of wind loading on a s side of snow lake divide
Some cracking on small test slopes on ridge lines (south aspect)
Public Field Report: Cache Couloir/Snow lake divide
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