Avalanche: Hatcher Pass

Location: Hatch Peak - Sunnyside

Date:
Observer:
Anonymous
Route & General Observations

An anonymous report indicated that they witnessed 2 avalanches on the Sunnyside of Hatch on 1/29.

The observations were made from a long distance away, from the Marmot ridgeline. Visibility was poor.

1/29 Hatch Peak avalanches

Contact, Location & General Observations
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Forecaster Comments

We believe that this observation is flawed and in poor light, the observer was mistaken. We have made a careful study of the area and interviewed other users that were in this area since Friday and found no compelling evidence to corroborate any avalanche occurrence.
We take observations of avalanches very seriously and do our best to get you the most up-to-date information possible.

Avalanche Details
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Trigger UnknownRemote Trigger Unknown
Avalanche Type UnknownAspect Unknown
ElevationunknownSlope Angleunknown
Crown DepthunknownWidthunknown
Vertical Rununknown  
Avalanche Details

Two avalanches were observed. The first is thought to be natural, but likely triggered form people in the area, either directly or remotely, and the second observed to be human triggered. The report came from someone who was observing this from a long distance away on the Marmot ridgeline.

Light precipitation was occurring at Hatcher Pass. Rain began around government peak and moved into the area in the afternoon. While they observed no rain on Marmot, they did speak to others who were at the top of Hatch Peak around the time of these avalanches who said they turned around because of rain.

The observer saw what appeared to be a natural avalanche, marked #1 in photo, and confirmed that it was slow moving and may have had some amount of rain saturated snow in it. It was long running and reached the creek bottom in the Valley of Sin, somewhat visible in this photo.

The second avalanche, marked #2 in photo, appeared to be triggered by some backcountry users who were traveling with a dog. It appeared to the observer that the group was involved in the avalanche but were able to get out of it. The observer was not able to contact the group involved and did not run into them later in the day.

If anyone has more information, please contact us, info@hpavalanche.org

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
Observer Comments

Rain on snow
Witnessed active avalanches
No other activity was observed

Photos & Video
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20230129 natural and human triggered avy  

Location
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