Airbag Alley

We hemmed and hawed on a location before settling on something nearby that might yield a few reasonable turns, and had a sunny approach. The walk up to Microdot shoulder was a mix of loose sugary facets, punchy windboard, and the occasional supportable wind slab. Once on Microdot shoulder, the vantage was desperate. Thin, rocky snow cover, punctuated by firm ribbons and lenses of boilerplate wind slabs. The scene is reminiscent of a harsh arctic desert, which is exactly what Hatcher Pass has been up to this point of the season. Travel is not for the faint of heart, and you have to be willing to put up with a lot of frustrating travel for a few potentially smooth, consistent turns. 

Some cracking of thin wind slabs isolated to skis.

The snowpack is variable. Alternatingly thin, breakable, faceted, and bulletproof, often in just a few feet of each other. 

The only snow displaying any instabilities on our tour was thin, breakable wind skins. For the most part, these are limited to low-angle or flat terrain. Where we encountered firm, supportable wind slabs, they were tied into tight terrain features, and despite sitting on a layer of faceted snow, they exhibited no instabilities.