Snoqualmie, N. Fork

During a recent trip to Ernie’s, we discovered a new landslide just downstream of Big Nasty. The river-right wall has collapsed, depositing a handful of massive boulders, a large scree pile, and a few trees into the river. The resulting constriction creates a new rapid which leads directly into Vertical Vortex. There is a small eddy above the rapid on river-left which is guarded by rocks. Reaching this eddy to scout, portage, or sneak the drop seemed challenging from our vantage point.

There are several new hazards in the vicinity. Extreme caution is warranted around the landslide. We witnessed several instances of active rockfall onto the scree pile, including car-sized boulders, which would have been lethal to boaters attempting to scout or portage at river level. We also saw a tree lodged vertically in the right side of Vertical Vortex, with many other logs both upstream and downstream, near the top of Toilet Bowl.

For the time being, boaters putting on to Ernie's should be prepared to navigate steep terrain to scout, portage, or hike out around the landslide.