| Recent Avalanches? | No |
| Collapsing (Whumphing)? | No |
| Cracking (Shooting cracks)? | Yes |
Observation: Hatcher Pass
Location: Gold Mint Tour/Point of Interest/Two Lakes
Toured from Gold Mint up to Two Lakes Valley. Skied N-NW aspects. 2000-4000ft elevations.
Obvious signs of instability
Observer Comments
We observed shooting cracks while skiing and in/around our skin track. In wind loaded areas the slab was approximately 8-12in deep and 4F hardness. We toured in a relatively low angle/protected location and at mid elevations. Evidence of high winds and snow transport in upper elevations.
Weather
0900 at Marmot: 14 degrees F 14-25mph SE winds
1400 at Marmot: 19 degrees F 30-63mph SE winds !!!
Storm Total: Approximately 9-12 in
Blowing snow. Big warming trend from prior days.
No snow fall during our tour this morning.
Snow surface
Powder. Good powder skiing. Deep trail breaking. Isolated areas of prior wind crusts were still felt but very occasionally. Windslabs were still soft (4F) on these aspects and elevations.
Snowpack
No formal pits or stability tests performed.
Quick hand shears reveal:
1. storm slab instabilities in new snow (small density changes?)
2. poorly bonded wind slab (4F+) up to a 12in deep in wind loaded areas
Shooting cracks in convex wind loaded slope. This is a very low angle slope, less than 25 degrees. About 3000ft, N aspect
more shooting cracks, about 3200ft N aspect