Lawinenlagebericht

Seward and Lost Lake

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
Auf der Karte ansehen

Lawinengefahr

Wed
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
2 · Mässig
Open full map
Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist last year abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Today we expect a break between storms. Avalanche danger will start out MODERATE and may rise to CONSIDERABLE if the sun heats the snowpack more than anticipated. After so much recent avalanche activity due to large storms, an assessment mindset is a good approach today. Lingering wind slabs up to 3' deep should be on the stubborn side, but could be triggered by a person especially in steep upper elevation terrain. If the sun comes out before new storm clouds move in, wet avalanches will be quick to fail in steep terrain. A fresh glide avalanche released on Tincan in Turnagain Pass yesterday so continue to keep an eye out for glide cracks and avoid traveling in their path.  The Valentine's Day buried surface hoar is buried so deep it is becoming unlikely a person could trigger an avalanche on this layer.

WEDNESDAY'S AVALANCHE OUTLOOK:  HIGH AVALANCHE DANGER is on the way for Wednesday. Another warm storm is expected to pick up through the day and bring 1 to 4" of water (several feet of snow above rainline) to Turnagain Pass, Girdwood, Portage, Summit Lake, and Seward by the end of the day on Wednesday. Strong easterly ridgetop winds will accompany the precipitation making natural avalanches and human-triggered avalanches very likely. This will make avalanche conditions very dangerous, and travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended for Wednesday. 

___________________________________

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Avalanche Closure Notification for Tuesday April 15, 2025, Portage Glacier Highway MP 3-4. There will be intermittent traffic delays Tuesday April 15, 2025, on the Portage Glacier Highway for Avalanche Hazard Reduction work. From mileposts 3 to milepost 4 on the Portage Glacier Highway, motorists should expect delays of up to 45 minutes between 08:00 AM and 10:00 AM. Updates will be posted on the 511 system. http://511.alaska.gov

End of Season Operations: We have transitioned to our late season schedule. We will issue avalanche forecasts on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday for the second half of April. We will issue our final forecast of the season on Sunday, April 27.

If you have been traveling in avalanche terrain for at least one season and want to help avalanche researchers develop new tools to assist individuals with managing risk in avalanche terrain, check out this 1-2 minute survey. Participants will be entered to win prizes from Jones Snowboards, BCA, and more!

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–3

    Recent avalanches: Large slab avalanches were noticed on the north side of Bear Mountain pictured here. These look like new snow avalanches from storm and wind loading over the weekend. It looks like there was also widespread wet loose activity during the storm. 

    With light wind since yesterday morning and cold temperatures overnight, avalanche conditions should be quiet this morning. This could change quickly if the sun comes out before the clouds move in today. Cornices are very large and primed to fall so give them space on the ridge and watch for them from below. Wind slabs and storm slabs should be getting stubborn for a person to trigger, but they could be very large after the strong easterly winds from this weekend's storm. Assess as you go today, riding or jumping on test slopes and watching for red flags like a whumpf or shooting crack. These are clear signs to switch to "plan B" and ride lower angle slopes until the snowpack gets a little more time to adjust to the new load. Start out on smaller slopes and avoid any slope with a terrain trap at the bottom like a creek or gully. 

    Estimated storm totals from Saturday morning to 6am Tuesday morning.

    • Girdwood-   (1.5"SWE), 8-16"
    • Turnagain-  (2.4" SWE), 12-24"
    • Summit-  (0.3" SWE), 3" snow
    • Lost Lake-  (Grouse Creek not reporting, but the Exit Glacier station reported 0.9" water for the storm) 8-12" snow

     

    (4/14/2025)

    Recent slab avalanches on the north side of Bear Mountain from the storm over the weekend.

    Photo: Chugach Avalanche Center

  • Glide Cracks

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

    A fresh glide released on the south side of Tincan yesterday in Turnagain Pass. Continue to avoid spending any time underneath glide cracks as they could release with or without the input of the warm sun and could run to the valley bottom. 

    Wet avalanches are less likely today as surfaces should be frozen and clouds are forecast to move in. If you find soft surfaces and the clouds move in slower than expected, watch for roller balls as the indicator that surface snow is heating up. With so much water in the snowpack, it won't take much for wet avalanches to start occurring if the atmosphere heats up more than expected today. Boot penetration is a great test for this problem. If your boot sinks up to your knee wet avalanches will be likely and it's time to find colder snow.

    (4/14/2025)

    The glide cracks on Marathon are evolving. The one on the east face has numerous cracks now and the south facing one, that is hiding behind the tree, is creeping downhill. 

    Photo: Mik Dalpes

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

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

    We moved the deep persistent problem to the third on the list today. We haven't seen an avalanche on the surface hoar that got buried on Valentine's Day in the Seward area since the beginning of March in Seward. It is a good sign that the last few storms did not produce avalanches on this layer that we know of. We think this layer will be a problem when the snowpack really warms up again, which could be as soon as Wednesday, but with today's conditions there are lower chances of a person being able to trigger an avalancheof this type. 

Abgedeckte Regionen