Avalanche: Hatcher Pass

Location: HP Road

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

HP Road Ob. We practiced companion rescue on the flats near Independence Mine so didn’t poke around on any test slopes but did take photos of several natural avalanches attached below.

Avalanche Details
If this is an avalanche observation, click yes below and fill in the form as best as you can. If people were involved, please provide details.
Trigger NaturalRemote Trigger0
Avalanche Type UnknownAspect Unknown
ElevationunknownSlope Angleunknown
Crown DepthunknownWidthunknown
Vertical Rununknown  
Avalanche Details

Natural soft slab and dry loose avalanches were noticed including:

A D1 and D2 soft slab avalanche on the NE aspect of Peak 4068
A partially filled in D2 soft slab avalanche on the SW face of Marmot that was not noticed on our tour Sunday and must have happened sometime Monday or Tuesday.
Several slides along the NE aspect of Hatch Peak
Dry Loose sluffs from rocks along SE aspects of Skyscraper

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

Several natural avalanches observed from the recent storm. No natural avalanche activity occurred during our tour from 1200-1500 hrs.

Weather & Snow Characteristics
Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.
Weather

4-5" of new snow on the road when we drove up (which got plowed at 1300). Light wind from N (cold!), clear skies.

Snow surface

On the flats near the parking lot intact stellar dendrites could be seen on the snow surface, which was much more settled than our previous tour Sunday. Texturing on the snow surface from wind could be seen in the alpine along most peaks. At lower elevations (HAX lot), snow was generously covering the alders and trees, evidence of little or no wind.

Photos & Video
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