Observation: Hatcher Pass

Location: Marmot SE shoulder

Date:
Observer:
Fredrik Norrsell AAS Level 1 course
Route & General Observations

Toured up SE shoulder of Marmot to dig pits in similar terrain to the large avalanche that occurred on 3/26.

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)?Yes
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?Yes
Observer Comments

Widespread collapsing and shooting cracks anywhere from a few feet to 40+ feet, especially on SSE-SW aspects, where gentle warming had consolidated the new snow into a more cohesive slab.

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

Calm to light wind

Snow surface

The surface snow still mainly remained dry. Some moist surface snow/and or radiation recrystallization observed on S-SW aspects steeper than 25ยบ.

Snowpack

Conducted numerous tests in several pits, and obtained remarkable consistent results. See pit for results.

Photos & Video
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Marmot - SE Shoulder-27-Mar  

Location
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