Lawinenlagebericht

Hatcher Pass

Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Thu
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
2 · Mässig
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Kernpunkte

Hatcher Pass picked up over two feet of snow in the last 48 hours!

The avalanche danger is rated CONSIDERABLE on slopes above 3500' for STORM SLAB and PERSISTENT SLAB avalanches. The avalanche danger is MODERATE below 3500' for STORM SLAB avalanches. You are most likely to trigger avalanches today within the recent snow. Slides will be larger and easier to trigger as you climb in elevation. While less likely, in isolated pockets of steep and extreme terrain at upper elevations, you could trigger thicker, more destructive avalanches 2-3.5' deep on weak snow in the middle of the snowpack or near the ground. Seeking lower-angle, or wind-sheltered slopes, will help decrease your odds of triggering a slide today. 

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Join us for our next State of the Snowpack chat on Wednesday, January 14th, at the Blue and Gold Boardshop in Wasilla. We will be excited to debrief the December drought and cover this new snow to start 2026. Skeetawk will also be there to discuss their Management Plan for the area. 

***

Have you reached post-windstorm elation now that it is finally snowing? Come and celebrate with us at the 8th Annual HPAC Cabin Fever Reliever on Saturday, February 7th! More info and tickets here. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Storm Slabs

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

    You asked, and Ullr provided. In the 48 hours since snow began on Sunday, Hatcher Pass has received over two feet of snow, doubling our snowpack. 

    As you climb in elevation into more wind-exposed terrain, it won't take much southerly winds to have moved this low-density snow around, creating a stiffer, more sensitive slab. These are the areas where you may trigger wider avalanches that could bury or injure a skier or rider—especially on slopes with gullies, concavities, or cliffs. Watch for cracking or collapsing within the new snow; this is evidence that you have found a consolidated slab of new snow capable of making avalanches. 

    At low elevations or in sheltered terrain, triggering a slab avalanche is less likely, but in steep terrain, you could trigger loose snow avalanches or sloughs that could knock you down and carry you where you don't want to go. These slides may gouge into the old weak snow near the ground—creating larger, more consequential avalanches. 

    A cooling trend at the end of the storm should contribute to slabs loosening and becoming less reactive throughout the day, but remember this mantra: You are most likely to trigger new snow avalanches during the storm and up to 48 hours after it finishes. Hand pits and small test slopes are good indicators that a slab is still cohesive and could still avalanche on steeper slopes. 

    We experienced widespread cracking within new storm snow throughout the forecast area. In places where new snow overlays weak sugary snow, it was easy to get it to entrain on test slopes. 

    Photo: Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1.5–2.5

    In isolated terrain across the forecast area, older, thicker, and stiffer wind drifts formed by strong December winds still harbor ugly weak snow in the middle of the snowpack. These dense slabs of snow are helping armor the weak snow below, making avalanches difficult to trigger. While these are low probability, they will have dire consequences and may break 2-3.5' thick, or step down to weak snow near the ground, making larger avalanches. With so few people traveling in the forecasting area, we have limited feedback on this structure outside of snowpit tests that indicated poor structure and an ability for these slab/weak layers to fracture.Elsewhere across the forecast area, the snowpack has remained shallow and weak. In many places, new snow is falling on what could be described as a sandbox of weak faceted snow. Triggering a persistent slab avalanche here is less likely, where low-density snow fell onto the weak snow alone. 

    Be on the lookout for slopes where you find new snow that winds have drifted, or where new snow overlays thin, breakable old wind slabs. These are the areas where you are most likely to trigger a larger slide. Take a moment to brush away the new snow to expose the old snow surface below, or take a pole to assess for thin, breakable old wind slabs.

    The snowpack is variable across the forecast area and within slopes. This means that you could find all three of the snowpacks discussed above and trigger a persistent slab avalanche at the top, middle, or bottom of the slope. 

Avalanche Discussion

Hatcher Pass received upwards of two feet of low-density, cold snow at around 1.5" of Snow Water Equivalent over the last 48-hour period--a welcome relief to a month-long drought with extreme winds. If you have not been following along, these predominantly northeasterly winds built stiff slabs on most aspects with the minimal snow we had. Before this recent storm, we were seeing the remnants of these wind events with smooth, firm slabs being the only skiable terrain in Hatcher Pass. 

We can confidently say that we have a poor structure throughout the forecasting area, where repeated weeks of cold temperatures and drought conditions created large, crystalized snow grains (see below). We still have some uncertainty about how our snowpack will adjust to this new load, but we will likely have a lingering, persistent slab problem that will be slow to resolve, given the modest snow-to-weight ratio of this most recent storm and another bout of cold temperatures. 

Early season obstacles such as willows, rocks and ice still exist below this new, light snow. Outside of the avalanche hazard, this is the time of year where I intentionally "check myself before I wreck myself" when dialing up or down terrain selection, speed and riding style. It is longer days and a long season ahead. 

Recent Avalanches:

Visibility was poor yesterday but through gaps in the clouds we were able to glimpse a few natural new snow slab avalanches (D1) on multiple aspects as well as intentionally test slopes. See yesterday's observation here. 

On Wednesday, December 31st, forecasters triggered a couple of small wind-loaded pockets mid-slope in Eldorado Bowl. Read the full observation here. Several small, natural wind slab avalanches (D1) have been observed throughout IM Bowl as a result of the most recent (12/28-29) rounds of wind. On Sunday, Dec. 28th, Forecasters in the field intentionally triggered several small (D1) wind slab avalanches on Marmot. See all recent observations here. 

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