Hatcher Pass

Problemi valanghivi

• 

  Wind Slabs

  N

  NE

  E

  SE

  S

  SW

  W

  NW

  • Alta quota
  • Limite del bosco
  • Sotto il limite del bosco

  Probabilità

  Possible

  Dimensione

  1–2

  Over the weekend extreme winds ravaged Hatcher Pass. Yesterday gusts on Hatch Peak topped out in the 80's with close to 30 hours of sustained strong to extreme speeds throughout the forecast area. Recent winds will have transported much of the available and new snow into stiff drifts and slabs on aspects leeward to the southeast. With winds this strong, expect to encounter cross-loading on more windward aspects as well. Strong winds this morning will continue to shift to the southwest before diminishing this evening. 

  Expect new wind slabs 6-12'' thick possible to human trigger on west through north facing slopes above 2500 ft generally 35° and steeper. There is a good chance that wind slabs triggered today could step down into old buried weak layers of the snowpack, increasing the size, complexity, and danger of this problem.

  Watch for stiff or hard drifts and use caution when approaching smooth rounded features.  Wind drifts may sound hollow or crack out from your ski tip as you travel across them.  Shooting cracks are signs of instability and indicators of this avalanche problem. 

  At mid and lower elevations where the wind had less of an effect, and if snow continues to accumulate, it will be possible to find softer storm slabs from all the recent snow. While more manageable, this problem is worth mentioning as snowpack structure in these locations is generally garbage. Use caution when navigating creek bottoms, gullies, or terrain traps even at low elevations. 

  

• 

  Persistent Slabs

  N

  NE

  E

  SE

  S

  SW

  W

  NW

  • Alta quota
  • Limite del bosco
  • Sotto il limite del bosco

  Probabilità

  Possible

  Dimensione

  1–2

  While it's the new snow we're excited about, it's the weight of this new snow that is cause for concern in the snowpack. In the last week, Hatcher Pass has picked up close to an inch of Snow Water Equivalent. This newly added load to the snowpack is likely to be overloading and stressing buried weak layers and our generally poor snowpack structure. 

  Persistent Slab avalanches 1 to 3 feet deep will be possible to human trigger on southwest to northeast aspects above 2500' on slopes 30 degrees and steeper. 

  This problem could be triggered by a skier or wind slab avalanche stepping down into old buried weak layers. Today I'd expect to see some evidence of recent natural activity from this problem and would be very cautious when stepping out onto recently loaded slopes. Careful assessment and cautious route-finding will be required to navigate this problem. Freshly loaded slopes will be deemed suspect until proven otherwise. 

  Recent avalanches and collapsing are red flags and an indication of this problem. You can manage this problem by sticking to lower-angled slopes.