Deep Persistent Slabs
- Hochgebirge
- Waldgrenze
- Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
- Wahrscheinlichkeit
- Unlikely
- Größe
- 2–3
Recent Avalanches: We have limited info from the Lost Lake area following the most recent storm. Mik and John rode Snugh Harbor Thursday and saw fresh avalanche debris in the V-max area. There was likely more natural activity during the storm that has not been recorded yet. We also saw a natural avalanche cycle earlier in the week, with activity on mid and upper elevations in the mountains closer to Seward.
While it may not have done wonders for surface conditions, recent onslaught of warm, wet weather has helped improve snowpack stability now that things have cooled off again. The two biggest things working in our favor are (1) refrozen snow surfaces will support a lot of weight and make it very hard to impact deeper weak layers, and (2) the weak, faceted snow that has been a concern for over a month is beginning to bond under the added weight and warm temperatures.
All of this is good news, but we are not out of the woods yet. A person can still impact that deeply buried weak layer at elevations where the surface crust is unsupportable or nonexistent. While the likelihood of triggering an avalanche on this layer is decreasing, the potential size of these avalanches remains large and destructive. You can avoid this problem entirely by staying away from steep terrain. If you are traveling on steeper slopes, avoid anything with terrain traps like cliffs, trees, or depressions that could collect debris in deep piles.
After nearly a month of elevated avalanche danger, we are just barely starting to carefully nudge out into steeper terrain. For now, that means taking baby steps and leaving the big terrain alone while the snowpack continues to heal.
(2/5/2026) Snow pit at 2,100’ feet on a southeast facing slope at V-max. DTX Photo: Dalpes/Sykes/Smith
