March 12, 2011, Shut Down - Snoqualmie Pass

Glad you used your instincts and did not go under Chair Peak.
I can appreciate your motivation, but what did you see as safe that drove your motivation further out up the drainage in the snow given forecast and visible signs of high avy danger? What made you feel it was safe enough to proceed, even with the "B" plan goal of Pineapple to Denny Creek? IMO the fog was a blessing in disguise to turn you around even if the trip was maybe kinda running the gamut. Given the conditions, it seems like a recipe for disaster to me, but I am fairly conservative when traveling in drainages especially when I see blatant signs on High avy days.
Just curious.

author=Joedabaker link=topic=20140.msg85597#msg85597 date=1300080486]
Glad you used your instincts and did not go under Chair Peak.
I can appreciate your motivation, but what did you see as safe that drove your motivation further out up the drainage in the snow given forecast and visible signs of high avy danger? What made you feel it was safe enough to proceed, even with the "B" plan goal of Pineapple to Denny Creek? IMO the fog was a blessing in disguise to turn you around even if the trip was maybe kinda running the gamut. Given the conditions, it seems like a recipe for disaster to me, but I am fairly conservative when traveling in drainages especially when I see blatant signs on High avy days.
Just curious.

I felt the terrain one encounters via a tour to pineapple pass is for the most part low risk, now descending down towards denny creek, that involves a S-SW exposure which heated up Friday and for the most part had "shed" via wet/soft slab slides, this had occurred most likely on friday in open clearings with the most direct radiation exposure.  We were able to pick  lines avoiding clearings, w/o any notice of instability in the snowpack.  None of the slides on the denny creek side seemed to involve a reactive energy intensive hard slab.  Everything had the appearance of slow pinwheel almost wet slab slides.  There were us and 3 other parities in the area that day, and no one reported observing any immediate instabilities in the area encountered. 

I do agree with you that the general terrain one encounters on the denny creek side of the pineapple pass is one to be cautious  with.

chuck
   

Thanks Chuck
Good thinking, it's good to hear what you were thinking. Not being there it's hard to define the conditions remotely.