Hatcher Pass
|
Archives 
|
The Bottom Line
Generally safe avalanche conditions. Natural avalanches will be unlikely today. Small, Dry Loose sluffs will be possible to trigger on all aspects, in steep terrain, at all elevations, with generally low consequence. Glide crack avalanches will continue to be an unpredictable, low probability/high consequence threatening hazard.
Tis’ the season to be grateful for a more maritime snowpack, manageable glide crack hazards, and low avalanche danger.
Winds today are forecasted to remain light, however, keep a close eye on wind speeds and look for flagging at ridge tops throughout the day. If wind speeds consistently pick up at mid to upper elevations today, a wind slab hazard will quickly rise to moderate and then considerable. A combination of low density snow available for transport and weak, faceted snow and buried surface hoar will make winds slabs sensitive to triggering.
Special AnnouncementsJAN 7 – HPAC presents at Tuesday Night’s at SkiAK. Get to know the staff, how they report mountain conditions, the importance of public real time observations and take in some lessons learned from past seasons. click HERE.
JAN 11 – Get ready for the annual free avalanche rescue workshop, Jan 11, hosted by the Hatcher Pass Snow Riders Club, HPAC and CNFAIC. Workshop will take place at the Gold Mint Lot at Hatcher Pass. No need to sign up, just come!
Click HERE to view more events
| |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Travel Advice | Generally safe avalanche conditions. Watch for unstable snow on isolated terrain features. | Heightened avalanche conditions on specific terrain features. Evaluate snow and terrain carefully; identify features of concern. | Dangerous avalanche conditions. Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding, and conservative decision-making essential. | Very dangerous avalanche conditions. Travel in avalanche terrain not recommended. | Extraordinarily dangerous avalanche conditions. Avoid all avalanche terrain. |
| Likelihood of Avalanches | Natural and human-triggered avalanches unlikely. | Natural avalanches unlikely; human-triggered avalanches possible. | Natural avalanches possible; human-triggered avalanches likely. | Natural avalanches likely; human-triggered avalanches very likely. | Natural and human-triggered avalanches certain. |
| Avalanche Size and Distribution | Small avalanches in isolated areas or extreme terrain. | Small avalanches in specific areas; or large avalanches in isolated areas. | Small avalanches in many areas; or large avalanches in specific areas; or very large avalanches in isolated areas. | Large avalanches in many areas; or very large avalanches in specific areas. | Very large avalanches in many areas. |
The only avalanches observed this week were several small natural and human triggered loose dry avalanches following the Kim Jong Xmas Gift snow storm 12/24-27/2019.
12/27 – Small natural loose dry avalanches on Skyscraper, SE, 4000′
No new glide releases. Some glides appear to have grown ever so slightly.
| Signal Word | Size (D scale) | Simple Descriptor |
| Small | 1 | Unlikely to bury a person |
| Large | 2 | Can bury a person |
| Very Large | 3 | Can destroy a house |
| Historic | 4 & 5 | Can destroy part or all of a village |
Small dry loose avalanches will be possible to human trigger on all aspects, at all elevations, on slopes 40° and steeper. A combination of new snow, near surface facets, and smooth bed surfaces, such as wind board and crusts will allow for dry loose avalanches.
While these types of avalanches will be small, they may be capable of dragging or flushing you into other terrain traps such as cliffs, compounding the risk.
Slope cutting is an effective and safe technique, when properly executed, for this avalanche problem.
Cold weather today, and over the next few days, will continue to weaken the surface snow and increase the volume and speed of human triggered loose dry avalanches.
| Signal Word | Size (D scale) | Simple Descriptor |
| Small | 1 | Unlikely to bury a person |
| Large | 2 | Can bury a person |
| Very Large | 3 | Can destroy a house |
| Historic | 4 & 5 | Can destroy part or all of a village |
Glide avalanches continue to be a widespread, low probability, high consequence hazard at mid to upper elevations. These avalanches can fail at the ground, 2-4 feet deep, releasing the entire depth of the snowpack.
Glide avalanches may release at any time, are unpredictable, and can be large enough to bury, injure, or kill a person. Although not extremely well understood, glide cracks often release during cooling trends as well as warm periods. Glide avalanches are not triggered by people or explosives. The only way to manage this problem is to avoid, or limit, any exposure to glide cracks.
Fortunately, avoiding this hazard is fairly easy. Glide cracks visually stand out on the landscape and appear as “brown frowns” (see picture below for reference). Glide cracks can be a single brown frown or a series of cracks. These cracks indicate the snowpack is creeping, which is an extremely slow paced motion down-slope which culminates in the release of the entire snowpack. Glide cracks can exist for seconds or months before the resulting avalanche occurs and is therefore extremely difficult to predict.
There are a number of glide cracks hovering over common travel routes at HP. Pictured below is a glide crack which hangs above the Willow Creek Road to Hatcher Pass proper. No one knows when this will release. We do not recommend traveling under this hazard. If you must travel under this hazard, pass it as quickly as possible and do not linger below it.
Below: The last glide avalanche was documented around December 7th on Hatch Peak’s southeast face.
~12/7 Glide avalanche, Hatch Peak, ESE, 4000′
Confused on whether an avalanche is the result of a GLIDE or a SLAB? Stay tuned on the OBSERVATIONS platform or HERE.
This week 6-8″ of new snow accumulated with cold temps and generally calm winds. 1-2″ of new snow is expected today with cold temps in the teens. Winds are forecasted to be light today, and if this holds true the avalanche forecast will remain the same.
If wind speeds climb much above 15 mph for sustained periods, then a wind slab avalanche hazard will form and the avalanche hazard will rise to moderate and then considerable quite quickly. Any wind slab formation is expected to be shallow and thin, due to the amount of available low density snow for transport, and forming in specific areas, on leeward aspects, at mid to upper elevations. Wind slabs will be forming over weak, near surface facets and buried surface hoar.
This week looks weathery with low pressure systems in the Gulf of Alaska bringing clouds and precipitation to Southcentral AK. At this point it appears low pressure systems will continue to bring light precipitation to HP throughout the week. We do not anticipate any obvious big snow dumps lining up for Hatcher this week.
The forecast is calling for warmer temps early in the week, and then cold temps towards next weekend. Winds may pick up early in the week and then taper.
NWS Rec Forecast here.
NWS point forecast here.
State Parks Snow Report and Motorized Access information here.
