Lawinenlagebericht Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Despite quiet weather, there are still chances that a person could trigger an avalanche up to 2' deep in fresh and windblown snow from Fridays storm. This is most likely in the Girdwood area, but there may be places where this could occur in Turnagain Pass in wind protected areas. If the wind picks up more than expected today, watch for blowing snow. Fresh wind slabs up to 1' deep may be forming wherever this snow is landing. All of these problems can be avoided by choosing low angle or simple terrain.

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

We’re excited to announce the annual Turnagain Pass Avalanche Awareness Day on Saturday, March 14! We will be up in the Turnagain Pass motorized lot from noon until 4 pm, along with AMDS, Anchorage Yamaha and Polaris, Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol, Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs, and the Alaska Avalanche School. Stop by to demo a snowmachine, run through some avalanche rescue drills, or just grab a free burger or hot dog and chat with CNFAC forecasters about current avalanche conditions.

Recent Avalanches: We got a report of a skier-triggered avalanche yesterday on Notch Mountain in Girdwood. On Saturday, a large natural avalanche was seen in Girdwood, also on Notch Mountain, and several smaller avalanches were seen on Seattle Ridge. Many small dry loose avalanches have been triggered by riders the last few days on steep slopes.

It looks like the new snow from Friday's storm is stabilizing nicely in Turnagain Pass, although there may be isolated areas of unstable snow we haven't found yet. The Girdwood Valley is a different story. There have been many red flags in Girdwood since the storm on Friday, including a large natural avalanche, a human-triggered avalanche and reports of collapsing in multiple areas. Extra caution is warranted in Girdwood as there are much higher chances a person will trigger a large avalanche in this area. This type of problem may not give any warning signs during assessment. This can be completely avoided by sticking to low angle slopes. We don't have any recent infomation from the Placer area so extra caution is recommended in this area too.

For Turnagain Pass, there are much lower chances a person will trigger an avalanche like the ones that have been occurring the last few days in Girdwood. Places where this is more likely to occur will be wind protected areas, but probably tricky to identify and there may not be any red flags.

The wind forecast throughout this zone is borderline today for being strong enough to form new wind slabs. If they form, they will be just below ridgelines, on steep rollovers and in gullies. Fresh wind slabs should be on the small side, but keep an eye on the terrain below and ensure the runout is clear in case you get surprised and carried.

Dry Loose Avalanches - In steep areas that have been spared by the wind, it will be easy for a person to trigger small dry loose avalanches. These should be small and relatively managable, but keep an eye out for what's below in case they sweep you off your feet.

Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Lawinengefahr

Kernpunkte

Lawinenprobleme

Wind Slabs

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