Extreme avalanche danger at Hatcher Pass

A backcountry avalanche warning is in effect through Wednesday in the Hatcher Pass area. The National Weather Service issued the warning this morning at the request of the Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center.

Jed Workman, who manages the online avalanche warning site, says a unique set of conditions has caused the recent spate of snow slides at Hatcher Pass…

“…And now is exhibiting itself with new snow overlying weak, faceted snow. So the weak snow is from October, and it is very weak, and the new snow is much stronger than that. So when the weak snow fails, the stronger snow on top comes down.”

The warning is in effect through Thursday morning. Recent strong winds in Southcentral have worsened conditions, and the Weather Service is predicting heavy rain Wednesday evening throughout Southcentral. Workman says the danger may reach extreme levels by Thursday.

“We have not seen an avalanche cycle on this scale for a very long time. And so this is a very special case situation with a very high hazard, so we cannot stress enough that people take this seriously.”

Human-triggered and natural avalanches are likely on slopes steeper than 30 degrees, according to Workman’s warning.

In essence, holiday weekend skiing is off in backcountry areas near the Pass, Workman says.

“A lot of people have been teasing the avalanche danger recently, and have been very close to getting caught in avalanches. But now the consequences are getting much, much larger, and we really have to stress that people stay out of the backcountry at Hatcher Pass.”

Tuesday,  an avalanche blocked Hatcher Pass Road with a 14-foot pile of snow.

The Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center is part of a network of websites that advise backcountry skiers of dangerous weather patterns.