Avalanche: Hatcher Pass

Location: Blueberry Knoll (BBK)

Date:

February 14, 2023 8:17pm

Observer:

Anonymous

Route & General Observations

A small soft slab was human triggered on Blueberry Knoll today. Elevation is unknown. Person was caught but able to hold onto alders and not carried. The avalanche was approximately 10-12″ deep, 15 ft wide with a slope angle of 42 deg. The slab broke 5 to 6′ above the skier/rider.

Contact, Location & General Observations

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Forecaster Comments

We believe this avalanche failed on near surface facets sitting on the wind slab that formed 2/8-9. Further investigation is needed.

Avalanche Details

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Trigger	Skier	Remote Trigger	Unknown
Avalanche Type	Soft Slab	Aspect	Unknown
Elevation	unknown	Slope Angle	42deg
Crown Depth	unknown	Width	unknown
Vertical Run	unknown

Near Miss / Accident Details

Number Caught/Carried?	1	Number Partially Buried?	0
Number Fully Buried?	0	Number Injured?	0
Number Fatalities?	0

Avalanche Details

Details passed down secondhand and not confirmed.
Avalanche approx 15 ft wide and 10-12" deep.
Avalanche fractured on the 2nd or 3rd turn above the person.

Events of the day

Person was caught, able to grab alders to arrest and was not carried or injured.

Weather & Snow Characteristics

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Weather

12+ new snow on 2/11-2/13
Winds ESE G 22-30 for 11 hours on 2/14 at 4500'.

Photos & Video

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Location

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