Observation: Hatcher Pass

Location: Marmot

Date:
Observer:
Tony Naciuk
Route & General Observations

New snow, little wind, a short 3 hr window of good evening light before nightfall.

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?No
Collapsing (Whumphing)?Yes
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?No
Observer Comments

Set off a couple whumphs when breaking trail on a steeper convexity on the lower / mid-elevations of Marmot. There were a couple existing tracks nearby, and boulders under snow. Trail breaking on upper ridgeline did not yield any red flags.

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

Cloudy flat light until 1 PM, broke out to mostly clear at about 2 PM until sunset. Temps in the mid twenties, no wind.

Snow surface

Low density snow. Some visible wind effect on ridgelines.

Snowpack

Low density snow, about 20 - 30cm, over a firmer layer.

Smoked a few rocks on the upper SW ridgeline where snow pack is thinner overall. Found deeper snow in leeward terrain.

Photos & Video
Please upload photos below. Maximum of 5 megabytes per image. Click here for help on resizing images. If you are having trouble uploading please email images separately to staff.

Marmot SW face with some new tracks post-storm. Folks were mostly conservative.  

Skyscraper with some naturals avalanches  

Nice evening light  

20 - 30 cm ski penetration  

Location
Click to Explore Location.