Avalanche forecast

Hatcher Pass

Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 7 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

The avalanche danger is MODERATE above 2,500' for WIND SLAB and PERSISTENT SLAB avalanches. The danger is LOW elsewhere. 

You may find isolated pockets of wind-drifted snow near ridgelines, alpine bowls, or cross-loaded gullies. Be suspicious of slopes where you find a scalloped wind-stiffened snow surface. It's not out of the realm of possibilities that you could trigger thicker avalanches failing near the ground, especially on the northern half of the compass in shallow, rocky terrain. You can seek uniformly covered slopes, with clean runouts and slopes free of wind-loading, to better increase your odds of a successful day in the mountains. 

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Winter is here! Come and celebrate with us at the 8th Annual HPAC Cabin Fever Reliever on Saturday, February 7th! More info and tickets in the pinned post and on our website at hpavalanche.org.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    While trending unlikely, it may be possible to find a pocket of weak, unstable snow in upper elevations on the northern half of the compass where slabs still sit over weak sugary snow. Your chances of finding and triggering a persistent slab avalanche up to 3' deep will be highest near shallower, rocky terrain.

    The easiest way to manage this problem is to select terrain with a steepness of less than about 30 degrees. If you do choose to get into avalanche terrain (slopes steeper than 30 degrees), you can choose terrain with a seemingly uniformly deep snow pack greater than about 3' deep—although be aware that you could trigger a slide from the edges or the middle of a slope where the snowpack is shallow and variable. Additionally, this problem mostly exists on the northern half of the compass, where the last week of warm temperatures and sunny skies has played little role in improving stability.

    (1/28/2026)

    A natural slab avalanche in Eldorado Bowl that was triggered some time during 1/27-1/28--an indicator that you could still find shallow pockets of poor structure lingering after our warmup period. 

    Photo: Fallon Connolly

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1–2

    You may find and be able to trigger wind slabs in upper elevation terrain where strong winds over the last few days have built 1-2' thick drifts. This problem most likely exists near ridgelines, alpine bowls, or in cross-loaded gullies. Expect the size and likelihood of triggering a slide to increase as you climb in elevation into more wind-affected terrain. 

    Be on the lookout for smooth, firm, and hollow-sounding snow surfaces. Shooting cracks are signs that you have found an unstable slab of snow. Pole probing and hand pits are good tests for this problem as you travel. Be increasingly wary where you find a stiff slab of wind-drifted snow resting above a thin crust from warm temperatures and light rain last week. 

    Steep cross-loaded gullies are places where you could still find this problem. Photo: Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center

Avalanche Discussion

Triggering an avalanche deeper in the snowpack, failing on buried weak layers, remains possible. And while we are sitting on the more unlikely side of that possible mark, we can't completely remove this problem for a few reasons:

  • Overall, the snowpack structure remains poor—especially on shallow or rocky slopes. 
  • We continue to receive reports of snowpack collapsing (Observation), likely failing on weak snow near the ground. 
  • Following the last storm cycle (01/26-01/27), skies and riders observed several natural persistent slab avalanches in the upper elevation band. With continued poor visibility, it is challenging to date these slides, and we can't rule out the possibility that these occurred naturally during or shortly after the storm (Observation). 

So, how do we manage a persistent slab problem that provides limited feedback? The easiest way is to select terrain with a steepness of less than about 30 degrees. If you do choose to get into avalanche terrain (slopes steeper than 30 degrees), you can choose terrain with a seemingly uniformly deep snow pack greater than about 3' deep—although be aware that you could trigger a slide from the edges or the middle of a slope where the snowpack is shallow and variable. Additionally, this problem mostly exists on the northern half of the compass, where the last week of warm temperatures and sunny skies has played little role in improving stability. Remember to ski and ride steep slopes one at a time, always carry the appropriate rescue gear, and consider the consequences of even a small slide carrying you into gullies or rocks. 

RECENT AVALANCHES: 

Several natural avalanches were observed on 1/28 that likely occurred in the night or early that morning as wind speeds peaked. These include slides in Marmot Gullies, west-facing Marmot, Skyscraper, Eldorado, the north-facing aspect of 4068', and Wimp Bowl. Also on Wednesday, skiers on President's Ridge triggered two small avalanches while traveling. See all recent observations here.

Regions covered