Observation: Hatcher Pass

November 6, 2022 

Conditions Update

I traveled from Independence Mine to Eldorado Lowers

Thin coverage! It looks better than it is. There are very specific locations with better coverage than others, but without a base, you hit bottom and hazards are unavoidable. The ground is very visible in most ski and snowboard turns.

• There is enough snow to look nice and wintery white, and enough to practice beacon drills.
• Coverage is very thin with no base, easy to hit rocks and get caught up in buried alders and bushes
• Creeks were open and difficult to cross
• Total snowpack observed was 8-16″ of low-density snow, mostly weak and sugary, with a thin ice crust at ground
• Higher elevations may have some wind slabs from previous wind events, but I was not able to get up higher than 3800 feet
• I did not encounter any slab cohesion on my tour, but I also only saw a small sample of what’s out there. Upper elevations may have received more wind, and old wind slabs may fail easily on weak basal sugary snow. I would expect these potential hazards to be small and patchy in distribution.
• The most likely type of avalanche possible is loose dry sluffing on steep slopes 40 degrees and steeper.
• Road was freshly and well plowed including turn outs and parking

Below: Eldorado Lowers, 3800′, East Aspect

Below: Eldorado Lowers, 3200′, East Aspect