Avalanche: Hatcher Pass

Based on recent weather and observations we decided to tour out of Independence mine up towards Microdot. We dug two pits right next to each other one with a deeper snowpack and no stability test failures, and mine which was shallower with the details listed in the observation. Based on my pit, I assessed that the snowpack was unstable and we should avoid steeper terrain. If we would have only used the data from my partner’s pit, we might not have been as conservative. We discussed risk, assessed a recent avalanche on Microdot, and watched a few skiers ski a line to the looker’s left of the line that slid (prior to the avalanche), and deemed it safe. As we began our skin up, we saw it slide and witnessed the skier barely out ski the avalanche debris. We decided that our chosen line was probably safe to ski, but there were enough red flags, so we chose to err on the side of caution and skied off the lower bench back to the truck.

Overall it was good lesson in risk management, the complexity of terrain and weather, good group communication, and conservative decision-making in the backcountry.