Avalanche: Hatcher Pass

Location: South Face/Sunnyside of Hatch- Large Avalanche Near Miss

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

A very large avalanche was human triggered today by the 3rd skier down the slope on the south face of Hatch at approximately 4500′ at 3pm. See details in avalanche section. No one was carried, no injuries sustained. SS-ASu-R4-D3-I/O

A second human triggered avalanche was reported today on a south aspect in April Bowl. One person was buried and dug out with minimal injuries. We are investigating this incident and will share more information as it becomes available.

 

Avalanche Details
If this is an avalanche observation, click yes below and fill in the form as best as you can. If people were involved, please provide details.
Trigger SkierRemote Trigger No
Avalanche Type Soft SlabAspect Southeast
Elevation 4500ftSlope Angleunknown
Crown DepthunknownWidth 300ft
Vertical Run 1500ft  
Near Miss / Accident Details
Number Caught/Carried? 1Number Partially Buried?0
Number Fully Buried?0Number Injured?0
Number Fatalities?0  
Avalanche Details

The first two skiers skied one at a time down slope and traversed lookers right to a safe zone . The third skier skied a similar line and approximately 1/3 to 1/2 way down slope triggered a slab. The party reported not hearing any whumping, cracking or collapsing throughout the day. The slab broke and propagated way above the skier. The skier who triggered the avalanche was miraculously able to to ski off the slab. The crown was significantly shallower at the crown and left flank and stepped down into a deeper persistent slab on leeward facing gully sidewalls. The debris ran the entire path, filled the gully, and ran up the other side approximately 50ft.

Events of the day

1 person was initially caught but skied off the slab and was not carried.

Rescue events

A party on Microdot called on the community radio frequency, 420 (C) to say they observed new debris in the valley of Sin . Our party on $1000 heard the report and was able to send two people rapidly up Hatch to look over into the Valley of Sin to confirm that indeed 3 tracks were seen going into the avalanche and coming out the other side, as well as spoting 3 people at the bottom of the run. While we were investigating the incident we called another forecaster who we thought to be heli-ski guiding in the area and asked for a fly by. Turns out the heli was headed home and within minutes had eyes on the scene, ready to rescue if needed. It was a scary moderate kind of day and the party was very lucky.

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)?No
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?No
Observer Comments

Lots of recent avalanches from 4/11-4/13 avalanche cycle on all aspects, all elevations.

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

The biggest red flag during the day was the rapid temperature change and how it affected snow surfaces. At 3pm Marmot @ 4500' reported 30 deg F and IM @ 3550' reported 38deg. Driving up to HP around 1pm my thermometer reported 45 deg F.

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.