Hatcher Pass

Avalanche problems

• 

  Storm Slabs

  N

  NE

  E

  SE

  S

  SW

  W

  NW

  • Alpine
  • Treeline
  • Below treeline

  Likelihood

  Likely

  Size

  1–2

  By the end of the day, the mountains around Hatcher Pass will have received over  2 feet of new snow since Sunday night. A skier or rider could easily trigger a slide within this new low-density snow. As you climb in elevation, expect these slides to become larger and easier to trigger. 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. 

  As you climb in elevation into more wind-exposed terrain, it won't take much for winds to move 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. 

   

  

• 

  Persistent Slabs

  N

  NE

  E

  SE

  S

  SW

  W

  NW

  • Alpine
  • Treeline
  • Below treeline

  Likelihood

  Possible

  Size

  1.5–2.5

  In isolated places 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 1-3' thick, or step down to weak snow near the ground, making larger avalanches. 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, being drifted by winds, or where new snow overlays thin, breakable old wind slabs. These are the areas where you are most likely to trigger a 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.