Observation: Hatcher Pass

Location: Microdot

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

Toured up to 4500′ on Microdot and skied the Nosebleeds.

Red Flags
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Observer Comments

None

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

Clear skies
No precipitation
Calm winds
Temperatures in the single digits at with an inversion. Temperatures felt surprisingly warm and nice in the sunshine.

Snow surface

Near surface facets on settled powder

Snowpack

We dug at 3 locations:

Pit 1: 4200', S aspect. CT18 SC down 85 cm on facets over a decomposing melt freeze crust. CT22 SP down 30 cm on between a wind slab and facets.

Pit 2: 4650', SSW aspect, 31 degree slope, HS=115 cm. CT 15, 20, 22 SP and ECTP30 down 83 cm on on decomposing, intact and standing 9mm buried surface hoar. ECTX.

Pit 3: 4550', NNE, HS=165 cm. CTN. ECTX. 4F snow top to bottom. Found 4mm buried surface hoar plates laid over down 120 cm. Skied out into the middle of the starting zone of the Nosebleeds and in a hand pit, found 6" of 1F wind packed facets under the new snow. Below the 1F wind packed facets was a layer of buried near surface facets over an 8" layer of wind packed facets. The wind packed facets were crumbly.

Photos & Video
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