Lawinenlagebericht

Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

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

A poor snowpack structure still exists at and above treeline elevations.  Triggering an avalanche 1-3' deep on a layer of buried surface hoar remains possible, despite the lack of weather the past several days.  Glide avalanches continue to deserve a mention as cracks are littered above many high traffic areas.  If/ when these fail the result is large, destructive debris flows with the potential to run quite far given mid and lower elevation surface crusts. We recommend you avoid travelling under glide cracks as much as possible.  

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SPECIAL ANOUNCEMENTS: 

The CNFAC is now on the AvyApp! This mobile app allows you to get the forecast, weather, and observations from an easy to use platform. Some of the best features include offline forecast caching, which allows you reference the forecast from anywhere and submit observations while out of connectivity.  Once you return to cell service, your obs/ photos will automatically upload! It's FREE, check it out and download it here.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Recent Avalanches:  A couple new glide avalanches were reported on Tuesday on the south side of Cornbiscuit, including one that crossed the uptrack. Aside from glides in the Girdwood, Turnagain, and Summit Lake zones over the past week, it's been 13 days since a significant natural avalanche cycle associated with the Thanksgiving day storm.  

    The buried surface hoar we've been talking about since Thanksgiving appears to be gaining strength and proving more difficult to find in snowpits this week.  This is certainly good news, but we aren't out of the woods yet.  Persistent weak layers are notorious for being slow to 'heal' and catching skier and snowmachiners off guard.  Just knowing these layers exist should give us pause before committing to complex terrain in the upper elevations (> ~2,500').  

    Good travel protocols can help mitigate some of the uncertainty with the current snowpack by minimizing victims and maximizing rescuers if a slope does slide.   This is equally important on the ascent and the descent.

    (12/7/2025)

    The view heading toward Taylor Pass. Pay attention to where you lose the crust today.  In upper elevations where the crust is faceting out, or doesn't exist are areas that it's possible to encounter a persistent slab avalanche. 

    Photo: Mik Dalpes

  • Glide Cracks

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

    The ongoing glide avalanche cycle remains a concern. We still know very little about how glide cracks respond to weather or other factors, but this early season has already seen unusually high glide activity in the Girdwood, Turnagain, and Summit Lake zones. These avalanches are large, destructive, and impossible to predict. With a slick crust at mid and lower elevations, debris may travel farther and faster once released. The best way to manage this problem is to limit time spent in runout zones.

    (12/9/2025)

    Goldpan, as seen in the foreground is riddled with some very large glide cracks.  Will these avalanche?

    Photo: George Creighton

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