Sunnyside and the Powder Pimple on Hatch

Loads of go-getter backcountry enthusiasts were recreating at Hatcher Pass today after the snowpack benefited from the brief "Hatcher Pass southwest special" which brought 7-10" of new snow on 11/25. We found a mostly right-side-up snowpack today, thanks to cooler-trending temperatures and a lack of wind with the recent storm. 

We observed numerous small dry loose sluffs on terrain 40deg and steeper that occurred during/after the 11/25 storm. We also observed 3 new small human triggered avalanches that occurred today on the SE aspect of Skyscraper at 4200'. See avalanche entry for avalanche information. Several parties triggered small dry loose sluffs today on Skyscraper, Marmot, Eldorado, and Microdot. None were large enough to bury, injure, or kill. The biggest hazards are still shallowly buried rocks. On our tour, we did not observe any collapsing or cracking.

We found poor structure in our pit today on a south aspect. We intentionally sought out a location where the old wind slab still exists and is sitting over weak sugary facets. The old wind slabs are mostly deteriorating but can still be found reactive-trending stubborn at and near ridgeline.

Sunnyside Hatch 4400' SE aspect, 34deg slope. HS 55cm Ski/Boot pen: 15/20cm ECTX, CT1 SP @25cm 

52cm-44cm- Fist-hard, DF

44-28-Fist hard, old wind slab

28-25-Pencil hard, Faceted rounded particles

25-20-1 Finger hard, facets 2mm

20-0-Knife hard, early Oct rain crust

We did numerous hand pits and pole tests on our tour. In many locations, the snowpack is right-side-up, lacks a slab component, and consists of decomposing fragments/new snow sitting over an old a deteriorating wind slab on top of one or more facet/crust layers. This structure will be problematic with the next loading event, which looks to be tomorrow with wind in the forecast.