| Trigger | Skier | Remote Trigger | Unknown |
| Avalanche Type | Soft Slab | Aspect | Southeast |
| Elevation | 3200ft | Slope Angle | unknown |
| Crown Depth | 12in | Width | 50ft |
| Vertical Run | 70ft |
Avalanche: Hatcher Pass
Location: Marmot SW face
Fishhook Lot to SW face Marmot. Traveled road before and after tour to make road observations.
Near Miss / Accident Details
| Number Caught/Carried? | 1 | Number Partially Buried? | 1 |
| Number Fully Buried? | 0 | Number Injured? | 0 |
| Number Fatalities? | 0 |
Avalanche Details
Skier triggered avalanche on SE aspect of Vice Presidents on Marmot Mountain. 1st skier triggered the slide.
Rescue events
No one injured. Skier was buried in debris waist deep, but they were able to easily self extricate. Some lost gear was found. Multiple people on site, but caught skier was able to self extricate.
Obvious signs of instability
| Recent Avalanches? | Yes |
| Collapsing (Whumphing)? | No |
| Cracking (Shooting cracks)? | No |
Observer Comments
We did not see significant signs of instability in the terrain where we toured. No avalanches, no cracking, no collapsing. No ski cut results at upper elevation SW aspects on slopes 40 degrees in steepness. The new snow was not acting as a slab, and lacked any cohesion. It was low density, fist hard and fluffy.
We did see signs of instability elsewhere, including numerous recent natural storm slab and dry loose avalanches. One party reported more small storm slab avalanches than they could count in an upper bowl on the south side of Marmot.
Weather
Partly cloudy, broken skies trending towards scattered in the afternoon. Improved visibility from 1-4pm.
Around 16F in the afternoon.
Calm to light southeast winds.
Snow surface
Approximately 10-12 inches of new snow.
Snowpack
We believe our forecast was off by a bit today.
We think the hazard was actually Moderate for Storm Slab, Loose Dry, not considerable.
Human triggered avalanches were still possible in specific areas, just not likely in many areas.
The new snow was low density and lacked wind or warm temperatures to allow for cohesion that would otherwise result in a more active slab avalanche problem in conjunction with the current structure in the rest of the snowpack.
Slope testing was minimal as most people made conservative terrain choices and few people were in the backcountry.
The only avalanche reported today was a human triggered soft slab avalanche on Vice Presidents. See pictures.
CLOSE UP 12/19/21 - Marmot, Vice Presidents, SE, about 4000', Human triggered storm slab avalanches that dredged old, weak faceted snow.
12/19/21 - Marmot, Vice Presidents, SE, about 4000', Human triggered storm slab avalanches that dredged old, weak faceted snow.
12/18/21 Natural storm slab avalanche. SSW, 4600'. Red arrow points at crown.
12/18/21 Natural small storm slab avalanche, SE, 3000'
12/18/21 Natural storm slab and dry loose avalanches above Martin mine
12/18/21 Natural small storm slab, Marmot SE, 2800'
12/18/21 Natural loose dry avalanches on Marmot, West, 3500-4000'
12/18/21 Natural storm snow avalanche Martin Mine sidewall, SSE, 3900'
marmot gully 3 natural