Hankin Naturals

Busy day at Hankin today (parking lot was full). Strong winds from the west. Saw some surface hoar growing just below treeline in open and sheltered areas (cut runs). Snow on the runs was nice and fluffy, with good coverage now.

We observed 4 recent natural avalanches in Hankin on generally north facing aspects. All appear to have started on lee slopes. The largest was in the middle of Hankin main bowl, which appeared to have propagated laterally a ways partway down (or else caused a sympathetic avalanche that then joined the main path). It also appears to have stepped down to ground further down the path (unfortunately not captured by photos). An avalanche on a similar aspect (idiots uptrack) also appears to have run to ground.