Recent avalanches:
A handful of natural wet slab avalanche occurred today on the Southeast face of Seattle Ridge. These were triggered by the sun and warm temperatures.
Seattle Ridge Natural activity from 1/25/2014:
3-4 wet slabs seen today. These were between 50 and 200′ wide and ~2′ deep. Most ran around 200-500′ into the alders.
Weather:
Mostly sunny and warm. Scattered clouds. Up to 50F at sea level and 32F on ridgetops. Winds were blowing plumes on the high (over 4,000′) peaks where the snow is dry enough to be blown.
Snow surface conditions:
A shallow refreeze caps a very wet and weak snowpack. The refreeze is thin (2cm) and completely unsupportable.
Snowpack:
The pack continues to be very wet and unconsolidated below treeline and, what appears to be, moist and cohesive at the upper elevations. Today the sun was the driving force destabilizing the pack and produce natural wet avalanche activity on the Pass. This shows how touchy the snowpack is right now.
Older avalanche:
2 day old avalanche from Pyramid Peak (occurred 1/23/2014):
Fitz was able to get good light on the West face of Pyramid slide. More details from this avalanche are on our Obs page with a 1/23 date.
Natural wet slab avalanche on Seattle Ridge 1/25/2014 (SE facing ~2,500')
Another wet slab avalanche on Seattle Ridge 1/25/2014 (SE facing ~2,500')
A look at the low cover from the motorized lot on Seattle Ridge. Photo looking west.
Close up of the West face of Pyramid Pk avalanche from 1/23/2014 (photo: John Fitzgerald)
Another shot of the Pyramid avalanche (photo: John Fitzgerald)