Hatcher Pass

The avalanche danger is LOW across all aspects and elevations.

Hitting rocks or triggering a small avalanche in steep, upper-elevation terrain continues to be the biggest hazard. 

Generally safe conditions exist otherwise and soft turns can be found on sheltered, lower-angled slopes. 

------------------------------------------------

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS: 

Wednesday, January 8th – Join us for the "State of the Snowpack", Forecaster Chat 6-7:30PMBleeding Heart Brewery 

Support HPAC and win some amazing prizes! Winter raffle tickets are available now!

Mark your calendars for the 17th annual Cabin Fever Reliever, this year featuring the Roland Roberts Band! Saturday, February 1st. Buy your tickets HERE. 

There is enough snow to ski, and for that I'm thankful. 

Temperatures have fallen and winds have ramped up briefly overnight. Expect riding conditions to be largely unchanged and be prepared to encounter variable conditions if you're headed up to the pass. Hopefully, the cold temps will work towards recrystallizing our stale snow, but until then your best bet for good turns will be on sheltered, lower-angled slopes or groomed trails. On that note, congrats to Skeetawk on their opening day!

PERSISTENT SLAB

Triggering a small slab in extreme terrain continues to be the biggest hazard. Faceted layers 1-3 ft deep in the snowpack continue to produce propagating results in snowpit tests although we have not observed a human-triggered avalanche on these layers in over a week. But with clear skies and no snow in the forecast, I would expect folks to continue to explore more steep unskied terrain and encounter this problem.

Where it exists, this instability will most likely be triggered on upper elevation (above 3500 ft) slopes steeper than 30°. Although the structure to support this problem exists around the compass, we're generally getting more energetic test results on isolated, shallow, windward aspects - east to southwest. Unfortunately, if you encounter this problem in that terrain, the consequences of a fall or even a small ride in our shallow snowpack could be traumatic. Generally, if you're pushing into steep, high-elevation terrain, it's likely that the only areas holding enough snow to properly ski will harbor this problem. Kicking off even a small avalanche in that extreme terrain could have serious consequences. Whumphing or collapsing are indications of this poor structure and instability in your area. In an otherwise deeper snowpack, this problem might be more manageable, but as it is now, limiting your exposure to these slopes is your best bet. 

Cold temperatures will work to degrade old slabs and crusts within the snowpack, but that's not a process that's likely to happen fast. This is a problem that is likely to continue to linger for a little while. 

Otherwise, expect to encounter mostly stable but variable conditions. The pass is a mix of soft snow and stiff or punchy drifts and a healthy amount of rocks and vegetation still visible. 

It's a time of status quo mindset with no substantial impacts on the horizon. Today, you'll find me on the skate track. 

---------------------------------------

RECENT AVALANCHES

No recent avalanches have been reported or observed since 12/21. 

Recent observations HERE