Avalanche: Hatcher Pass

Location: Stairstep

Date:

November 26, 2020 1:00pm

Observer:

Anonymous

Route & General Observations

standard up route. new snow to 20cms. snow still in trees down low. obvious wind(SE) texture in alpine
Topped out ~3500′

Avalanche Details

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Trigger	Skier	Remote Trigger	Yes
Avalanche Type	Soft Slab	Aspect	North Northeast
Elevation	unknown	Slope Angle	unknown
Crown Depth	12in	Width	unknown
Vertical Run	unknown

Avalanche Details

multiple remote triggers from 10-25m away. fresh soft leeward storm slabs usually on small unsupported slopes. one step down to basal facets in an extremely shallow area (previously scoured?)
See low light picture

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

Recent snow and wind, obvious wind texture up high, old slides on Punk Spines & elsewhere
collapsing in creek bed but no other collapses until near top out in the alpine. 2 collapses ;~ 3m, ~7m prior to de-skinning
1 audible collapse while down skiing coincident w 2nd remote

Weather & Snow Characteristics

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

Weather

clear calm 20*F at road 1030h; slight 0-2mph ENE breeze in alpine after 1230h, 16*F; high clouds from SSW coming in by 1500h

Snow surface

soft new snow w/ increasing texture and wind crust depending on aspect w/ increasing elevation

Snowpack

basal facets topped by clearish MF crust w/ small facets above then faceting rounds w/ occasional wind thickened layers topped by 15-20cm low density pow
hand shears were resistant, no formal pits

Photos & Video

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triggered by 1st skier ~ 15m away (out of sight). Note cracking

alos note tundra

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