Lawinenlagebericht

Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Fri
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

A brief wave of snow showers yesterday and moderate northwest winds arriving later today will interact to form fresh wind slabs 1-2' deep in the alpine.   These will be found near ridgelines and cross-loaded terrain features and may be sensitive to human triggers, particularly later in the day as wind speeds increase.  There is still a remote chance a person could trigger a very large avalanche 2-6' deep.  The latter avalanche problem is isolated to slopes above 2,500' and may be triggered from a thin spot in the snowpack.  

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Please keep the greater Lake Tahoe/eastern Sierra snow, avalanche, and rescue community in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate a very tragic avalanche accident that occurred on the Tahoe National Forest on Tuesday.  A preliminary report can be found here. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1.5–2.5

    Recent Avalanches: Two large natural avalanches occurred in the Girdwood Valley near Fish's Breath and Raggedtop during the last wind event on Saturday night  (2/14). It's likely that this side of the Girdwood Valley (west) has a thinner snowpack than the east side near Alyeska and Max's Mountain.

    A couple of inches of snow yesterday and northwest winds forecasted in the 25-30 mph range will be enough to form fresh wind slabs in leeward terrain that may be sensitive to skiers and snowmachiners today.  With visibility improving throughout the day, keep an eye out for 'flagging' of snow blowing off ridges and high peaks.  With winds forecasted from the northwest today, slopes on the south and east side of the compass are most suspect.  Visible blowing snow or shooting cracks are obvious clues that wind slabs are forming.  Cross-loaded gullies and steep terrain just below ridgelines (your first 2-3 turns) are areas most likely to trigger a fresh wind slab 1 to 2' deep.

    In areas protected from the wind, dry loose avalanches (sluffs) are a more manageable avalanche problem you may come across today.  Whether it be a wind slab or a sluff, consider the consequences if the slope does slide before committing to avalanche terrain.

     

    (2/16/2026)

    Cross-loaded gullies (in the sun) are examples of terrain where you may find sensitive wind slabs today.   ~2,500' above Lynx Creek.

    Photo: Marc Heifetz

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Unlikely
    Größe
    2–3

    It's becoming less likely that a skier or snowmachiner can trigger a large and destructive avalanche 2-6' deep, but we aren't ready to write this problem off just yet.  In areas with a shallower snowpack, such as Crow Creek, it's possible a human can still affect these deeper weak layers.  If you were to find the trigger point, the result would be a very large and destructive avalanche.  This avalanche problem can be found on all aspects of the compass, but is isolated to elevations above ~2,500. 

    (2/15/2026)

    Large natural avalanche in Ragged Top Bowl, likely occurred on Saturday, 2.14.

    Photo: Ari Stiassny

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