Avalanche: Hatcher Pass

Location: Birthday Pass

Date:
Observer:
Fred Trimble
Route & General Observations

Skier triggered sluff avalanche on new/old snow interface descending Birthday Pass.

Contact, Location & General Observations
Enter your contact information and a location for this observation. Note that you can submit anonymously, however if you would like to share your name with staff, but not the public, select No for "May we include your name in your observation"
Forecaster Comments

All sluffs observed today on E to SW aspects were small, up to D1 -D1.5 in size.

Avalanche Details
If this is an avalanche observation, click yes below and fill in the form as best as you can. If people were involved, please provide details.
Trigger SkierRemote Trigger No
Avalanche Type Dry Loose SnowAspect South Southeast
Elevation 4500ftSlope Angle 35deg
Crown DepthunknownWidth 60ft
Vertical Run 250ft  
Near Miss / Accident Details
Avalanche Details

Saw three skiers skinning up Birthday Pass in the Gold Cord basin. Second skier to decend triggered a dry slough avalanche about half way down the run. Skier was able to self arrest on the bed surface and was not caught in the slide. Slide was D2 in size and scope. Definitely big enough to bury and/or injury someone. This particular aspect has a large terrain trap at the bottom of the runout that could have resulted in a very deep burial had the slough trigged a slab fracture on the persistent weak layer.

Events of the day

10-12" new snow fell through out Saturday, 3/21. The snow was wind effected overnight with considerable transport taking place overnight. Wind stirations were visable on West and East aspects of steeper slopes today in Gold Cord basin. Multiple dry sloughing point release slides D1.5 to D2 in size were observed on both South and West aspects of Gold Cord basin and adjacent to this skier triggerd slide.

Rescue events

No rescue needed.

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)?No
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?No
Photos & Video
Please upload photos below. Maximum of 5 megabytes per image. Click here for help on resizing images. If you are having trouble uploading please email images separately to staff.

Looking North at Birthday Pass. Overall view shows skin track route and slough area.  

Closer view of dry slough slide on S-SE aspect of Birthday Pass. Skiers are still in the slide zone at this time.  

Location
Click to Explore Location.