Observation: Hatcher Pass

Location: Backside of Eldorado

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

Snowmachined over Hatcher Pass to the backside of Eldorado and into the area around Upper Willow Road. Good visibility early before the overcast and snow rolled in around 14:00. Saw some older small loose and slab avalanches in steep isolated terrain. Stability results yielded nothing alarming about the snowpack. Increasing winds began transporting snow as we left.

 

Red Flags
Red flags are simple visual clues that are a sign of potential avalanche danger. Please record any sign of red flags below.
Obvious signs of instability
Recent Avalanches?Yes
Collapsing (Whumphing)?Yes
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?No
Observer Comments

Observed just a handful of small loose dry and some thin persistent slab avalanches in steep isolated terrain features. Noticed an area of slab fractures from weak snow grains on southern aspects above Hatcher Pass Trail. ECTX and no alarming stability results.

Weather & Snow Characteristics
Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.
Weather

Scattered clouds early in the day then trending overcast in the afternoon. 16F degrees with a light breeze from the southeast, some banners off ridgelines were observed.

Snow surface

Excellent surface hero snow. Minor wind affect near exposed areas.

Snowpack

We found a deeper snowpack on this leeward aspect with 215cm. No unstable persistent weak grains in the location where we dug our snowpit. Subtle density changes in the upper snowpack may cause failures with moderate forces.

Photos & Video
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