Lawinenlagebericht

Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Sun
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 5 months ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

A person may still trigger an avalanche failing on a weak layer of snow buried 1 to 2' deep. There is some uncertainty about how reactive this snowpack setup remains. You can manage this problem by carefully assessing the upper snowpack before committing to steeper slopes and avoiding complex terrain with features like cliffs, trees, rocks, or depressions in runout zones that increase the consequences of getting caught in an avalanche.

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

PFD PSA: For the procrastinators in the crowd.... The PFD application deadline is fast approaching on March 31st!  Please consider a donation to the Friends of the Chugach Avalanche Center via Pick.Click.Give when filling out your application this year!  Every dollar helps cover weather station maintenance, safety equipment, research projects, and ensures professional, daily avalanche advisories all winter long for your favorite backcountry ski and snowmachine zones on the Chugach National Forest and Chugach State Park. THANK YOU!

Lawinenprobleme

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–2

    Recent Avalanches: A group remotely triggered a small avalanche in the Squirrel Flats area in the Placer River Valley on Wednesday. There was a widespread human-triggered avalanche cycle last weekend, with multiple remote triggers and at least two people getting caught, carried, and buried. We suspect all of these failed on a weak layer of snow buried by the storm that impacted our area on 3/19. Check out our Observations page for details.

    There are two layers of weak, faceted snow buried in the upper 1 to 2' of the snowpack that remain a concern today. One formed during the extended dry spell at the end of February, and the other formed between our two storms in early and mid-March. This setup was responsible for a widespread avalanche cycle following the 3/19 storm, and we are still managing terrain with this problem in mind.

    The problem layers have been fairly easy to recognize in snowpits, but they are starting to give mixed results in stability tests. Part of this is because the layers are gaining strength, but the tricky part is that we know the snowpack structure can vary significantly across a slope. You may find good stability in one spot, then trigger an avalanche just around the corner. This is why we've seen multiple avalanches over the past week on slopes that already had several tracks on them.

    The snowpack has been gaining strength, and these two problem layers are becoming stubborn. But they are not gone yet. The best way to manage this problem is to be careful with the terrain you are using. If you are getting onto steeper slopes, it will be important to avoid anything with terrain traps in avalanche runout zones. This includes things like trees, rocks or cliffs, and also features like gullies or depressions, which can collect debris in deeper piles.

    (3/26/2026)

    Small avalanches like these may not be a huge concern in small terrain, but they can have serious consequences in bigger terrain. South aspect, 3000-4000', Bench Peak area.

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