Lawinenlagebericht

Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Tue
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
3 · Erheblich
Unterhalb
2 · Mässig
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Kernpunkte

Strong winds and light precipitation are expected today. Our main concern is still triggering a very large avalanche on weak layers buried 2 to 5' deep. Fresh wind slabs up to 1' deep will also be forming at upper elevations and could be easily triggered by a skier or rider. To safely manage these conditions, we recommend a cautious approach to avalanche terrain by avoiding large steep slopes and runout zones of overhead avalanche paths. 

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Join us Friday, Feb. 13, for the annual Snowball fundraiser! This event is a collaboration with the Alaska Avalanche School and is always a fun way to support two nonprofit organizations that provide avalanche information and education in our area. Silent auction, beverages, hors d'oeuvres, and music by Hope Social Club! Tickets and event info at alaskaavalanche.org

Lawinenprobleme

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

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

    Recent avalanches: After the last storm on Thursday, there was a widespread natural avalanche cycle. Most avalanches we have observed appear to have released at the interface with the new storm snow, but there were a few with wider propagation that may have released on the December facet layer. 

    We are back into a warm and wet weather pattern this week. Light precipitation started last night and should continue throughout the day with little accumulation expected. Unfortunately, the rain line is expected to move up to 2000' today and continue to rise towards 2400' tonight. Heavier precipitation is expected overnight tonight through Tuesday afternoon, with up to 1 to 2' of new snow above 3000' (1 to 2" of water). Very strong east winds will accompany this wet weather, with averages of 25 to 35 mph expected today, increasing to averages of 50 to 60 mph overnight. 

    In the long term, this warm and wet weather is going to help the weak layers in our snowpack heal and eventually allow us to put the December facets out of our minds. But for now, there is still a chance someone could trigger a very large avalanche on this weak layer, which is now buried 2 to 5' deep. As this layer is buried deeper, it will act more stubbornly and be harder to assess. This is typical of deep slab avalanche problems, and managing this type of problem requires patience to give the weak layer enough time to fully heal or be buried so deeply that we can no longer trigger avalanches on it.

    To safely manage this problem, we continue to recommend avoiding steep slopes - especially larger, more connected terrain or above cliffs, gullies, or trees where the consequences of triggering an avalanche could be more severe. 

    (2/1/2026)

    Large avalanche on the northwest aspect of Pastoral. We don't know for sure what layer this released on, but the very wide propagation suggests some kind of persistent weak layer. 

  • Wind Slabs

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

    The onset of the wet weather is bringing strong winds along with it. Overnight, east winds averaged 10 to 20 mph, and today the winds should increase to an average of 30 to 40 mph. There is plenty of soft snow on the surface about 2500' from last week's storm that could be blown into fresh wind slabs about 1' deep today. These tend to form along ridgelines, gullies, and convex features in exposed areas. You can identify wind slabs by looking for where snow is being actively transported, using small test slopes to check for shooting cracks or small avalanches, and feeling for hollow pillows of snow that were recently deposited by the wind. Triggering a small wind slab avalanche could be enough to initiate a larger avalanche on a buried weak layer (problem 1).

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