Lawinenlagebericht

Hatcher Pass

Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Mon
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 6 months ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Above 3500', the avalanche danger is MODERATE  for WIND SLAB avalanches. Elsewhere, the hazard is LOW. 

You are most likely to trigger a slide where the wind has formed soft drifts of new snow. These exist near ridgelines, on convex rolls, or along sides of steep gullies. You can simplify the equation by seeking lower-angle slopes or slopes free of signs of wind loading. If you do get into steep terrain, hedge your bets by skiing or riding slopes one at a time and avoiding slopes with cliffs, depressions, or other terrain traps that could increase the consequences of even a small slide. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Our last and final State of the Snowpack of the season will be Wednesday, March 11th, at Palmer Brewing Co, 6 pm. Hope to see you there! 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–2

    New snow instabilities will range from loose, long-running sluffs on old-firm surfaces to denser, shallow slabs where wind has built drifts of snow. 

    Expect to find pockets of instability near ridgelines, convex rolls, or on the sides of steep gullies. The size and likelihood of triggering a slide will increase as you climb in elevation into more wind-favoring terrain. Watch for signs of wind loading, like drifting snow, or snow blowing off ridgelines or peaks. Wind slabs may not always present as stiff or hollow-sounding slabs of snow; you may only encounter drifts of soft snow. Snowpack cracking or collapsing are clues that you have found this problem. 

    New snow fell on a variety of surfaces, including old sun crusts, wind crusts, and near-surface facets. Avalanches could break wider than you expect, where these slides fail on old snow below. 

Avalanche Discussion

Today's avalanche problems are centered around new snow instabilities. If you are getting into avalanche terrain today, there are a few things to keep in mind: 

  • You are most likely to trigger slides where the wind has built fresh drifts. These may not be everywhere, but are most likely in upper elevation terrain as explained above. 
  • In extreme or very steep terrain, you could trigger loose snow sluffs that will entrain new snow as they move downhill. These could knock you off your feet, carrying you downhill. Even small slides can have serious consequences where slopes end in terrain traps such as cliffs, gullies, or depressions. 
  • Strong spring sun could cause sun-induced loose snow slides where new snow clings to rocks. Be aware of what's above you, and avoid lingering below craggy terrain receiving direct sun—this will be more of a problem later this week with sunnier skies. 

Deeper instabilities on weak snow near the ground and mid-pack crust facet combos are still on our radar, but with a stout mid-pack slab bridging deeper layers, and no avalanches in over a month, the persistent slab problem is, for now, dormant. Don't rule out the possiblity of finding trouble in the right spot—you can treat our shallow and variably weak snowpack as guilty until proven innocent. The uncertainty of how upper pack weak layers (January crusts, near-surface facets, and facet/wind crust combos) will react to this new snow should be at the back of your mind today. 

If you do get into steep terrain, hedge your bets by avoiding wind-loaded slopes, seeking slopes free of terrain traps, and skiing or riding slopes one at a time. 

RECENT AVALANCHES:

Outside of some small, isolated pockets and test slopes, we have had no reports or observations of human-triggered avalanches in several weeks. We have not observed a persistent slab avalanche failing on weak snow near the ground since 1/31. See all recent observations here. 

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