Avalanche forecast

Hatcher Pass

Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago.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

Highlights

The avalanche danger is MODERATE for WIND SLABS on upper elevation westerly facing slopes.

The avalanche danger is LOW on all other aspects and elevations.

A period of elevated Easterly winds that began yesterday evening will have made small drifts and shallow wind slabs. Expect these to be 2-4 inches deep and found mostly on upper-elevation westerly slopes. These shallow slabs will be possible to human-trigger and although likely small, it remains a bad time to take a ride, with a shallow snowpack and lots of rocks just below the snow surface.

Be on the lookout for drifting snow and cornices at ridgeline, and avoid slopes with smooth convex lenses, hollow-sounding or stiff snow, or shooting cracks. 

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 UPCOMING EVENTS:

Tuesday, December 3rd – 6:15-8:00 PM @ Backcountry Bike & Ski

Join us for the first forecaster chat of the season aka the “State of the Snowpack” with HPAC forecasters to go over the new forecast platform, submitting public observations, a review of our season’s history and what to expect moving forward.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    A period of elevated easterly winds began yesterday evening and could continue through today. Expect these winds to be felt at ridgeline and have contributed to shallow drifting and building of thin, isolated  2-4 inch wind slabs on westerly aspects, leeward to the NE to SE winds.

    Be on the lookout for small cornices, smooth convex lenses, and hollow-sounding slopes. This problem is likely to be small, isolated, and manageable with safe travel protocol, but with our shallow snowpack, in steep or consequential terrain it would be a bad time to take a ride. 

    This problem will most likely be found near gaps and passes and be more confined to ridgelines at upper elevations near the forecast boundary and less so in the central forecast area around the Independence Mine bowl. 

    Isolated, shallow cracking at 3400 ft on a NE facing slope. 

    Photo: Tim Rogers

Avalanche Discussion

A few days of settled weather has come to an end with overcast skies and increasing winds that began yesterday evening. Southcentral is undergoing a pattern shift to much warmer and wetter conditions over the next couple of days. For the most part the biggest impact will be a warming trend beginning tomorrow and lasting through the week. 

The biggest hazard today is the effect any wind will have on the snowpack. Recent snow has settled a bit but is still available for transport. Expect to find shallow drifting and small wind slabs to have formed along ridgelines and upper-elevation leeward slopes. 

Triggering a loose-dry sluff will still be possible today. The snowpack structure is still generally loose, granular, and faceted, lending easily to sluffs and dry-loose activity from riders. 

As always, watch out for shallowly buried rocks as the light will not have as much definition today. 

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RECENT AVALANCHES

A few riders reported triggering small loose-dry avalanches in steep terrain over the holiday break (see recent observations). Forecasters traveled outside the area to investigate some natural wind-slab avalanches that occurred Thursday as a result of short-duration wind.  Check out yesterday's observation to get an idea of the kind of activity today's wind could contribute to. 

Saturday's observation here. 

Regions covered