Avalanche: Hatcher Pass

Location: Government Peak

Date:

March 17, 2018 2:00pm

Observer:

Billy Finley

Route & General Observations

Toured up and down NE Ridge of Government. Many skiers and tracks on Sunnyside / S face of 4068. Several tracks down SE ridge of Government. Midday snow on ridges was wind affect but got softer the lower you dropped. Sun crust forming on S/SE/E facing slopes by 5pm.

Avalanche Details

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Trigger	Skier	Remote Trigger	0
Avalanche Type	Soft Slab	Aspect	Northwest
Elevation	4400ft	Slope Angle	unknown
Crown Depth	8in	Width	20ft
Vertical Run	500ft

Avalanche Details

Remote triggered a small soft slab on the NW side of the ridge while breaking trail along the ridge.

Red Flags

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Obvious signs of instability

Recent Avalanches?	Yes
Collapsing (Whumphing)?	No
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?	No

Observer Comments

Numerous avalanches triggered shortly after yesterday's storm.

Weather & Snow Characteristics

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Weather

Sunny, no wind, temps in the 30s.

Snow surface

New snow. Sun crust by 5pm.

Photos & Video

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Natural on the NW face of Government. Note the step down.

Natural on a NE facing rib of Government. Crown was partially filled by wind so unable to check depth.

Remote trigger on NW side of NE ridge of Government.

Natural on SE Ridge of Arkose.

Location

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