Hatcher Pass

The avalanche danger is LOW at all elevations.

Conditions are generally stable, and triggering a large avalanche is unlikely. While unlikely, you could still trigger a small pocket of lingering stiff, shallow previously wind drifted snow in steep terrain at upper elevations. You can manage this problem by only exposing one person at a time on steep slopes or by digging down and assessing for weak snow below wind drifts and crusts within the upper foot of the snowpack. 

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Last week, we have observed a gradual spring transition. Hatcher Pass remains a smattering of variable surfaces from firm, impenatrable and winded, shallow breakable crusts to deep and faceted. Due souths are beginning to see exposed tundra. So far, hard freezes overnight and below freezing daytime temperatures paired with some light winds have kept snow surfaces cool enough to stave off large wet avalanches. While triggering a large avalanche is unlikely, here are a few key considerations as you travel: 

PERSISTENT SLABS:  You may find small pockets of instability at upper elevations where old wind slabs rest above weak sugary snow below. Skiers on Thursday found this setup and triggered a slide on the southeast side of Marmot—fortunately, no one was caught, and the skier was able to ski off the slab. Last week, we found this setup on both the north and south sides of the Hatch Peak weather station ridge, where we had poor scores in stability tests (Observation). The takeaway from recent avalanches and poor stability tests is that we are not out of the woods yet for dry snow avalanches. Fortunately, avalanches will be isolated, shallow, difficult to trigger, and relatively small. The best way to manage this problem is to ski or ride slopes one at a time and be wary of slopes where you find thin, softer slabs of snow connecting to thicker drifts (this is where you could trigger larger slides similar to the slide on Marmot). You can further hedge your bets by digging down into the upper 1' of the snowpack, looking for weak snow below surficial wind drifts and crusts. 

WET LOOSE: 

Despite below-freezing temperatures, the strong spring sun has done a good job of warming slopes basking in direct sun.  The weathered landscape of Hatcher Pass has done well staving off any wet snow problems thus far, with little to no natural wet loose activity observed. That said, if you are skiing or riding late in the day near sunny steep rocky slopes and find a wet snow surface deeper than just a few inches, it may be time to seek cooler slopes. 

RECENT AVALANCHES: 

The most noteworthy avalanche of the last month was a skier-triggered persistent slab on 3/31 on the SE side of Marmot at around 4,300' at 5:20 pm. This avalanche failed within old wind slabs on facets and propagated across the top of a gully feature, and entrained moist surface snow and loose facets near the ground. This made what would have been a shallow and small hard slab avalanche more consequential as it moved slowly into a terrain trap feature. There are several small (D1), wet loose point releases on southerly aspects in Hatcher Pass in steep terrain at upper elevations from the last week.