Lawinenlagebericht

Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Sat
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

Strong winds and light snowfall today will form fresh wind slabs up to 1' deep above treeline. Human triggered and natural avalanches are likely in recently wind loaded areas. There is also a small chance of triggering an avalanche up to 6' deep on a buried weak layer from a thin spot in the snowpack. To avoid this issue you can always stick to lower angle terrain.

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Chugach National Forest Motorised Use:  Turnagain Pass and Snug Harbor are the only areas in the Chugach National Forest that received enough snow to open, all other areas remain closed. Low snow cover hazards exist at low elevations, such as open creeks and alders. We have limited information for these zones and recommend extra caution if riding on steeper slopes.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Another round of wind and light snow is arriving today, which will form fresh wind slabs around 1' deep at upper elevations. After the refresh of snow on Tuesday there is plenty of soft snow on the surface to be transported by winds. These are most likely to be found above treeline along exposed ridgelines or convex features. Keep an eye out for active wind transport, shooting cracks, or hollow feeling pillows of snow to identify areas with wind slabs. Digging quick hand pits and jumping or riding across small test slopes are good ways to evaluate how sensitive wind slabs are to the weight of a skier or rider. 

    Cornices will be growing again today with the increasing winds and could release naturally. Give them some extra space when traveling along ridgelines and be aware of the potential for cornice fall to trigger a larger avalanche on the slope below.

    Glide Avalanches seem to be slowing down but are still a concern. We recommend trying to avoid spending time underneath glide cracks and traveling one at a time if you need to traverse under one.  

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Unlikely
    Größe
    2.5–3.5

    In isolated areas with a thin overall snowpack depth, it is still possible to find buried weak layers that could produce very large avalanches up to 6' deep. We think it is unlikely for a person to trigger an avalanche on a buried weak layer.  However, due to the high consequences of triggering an avalanche like this, we are keeping it in the forecast until we gain more confidence that the weak layers have become unreactive. 

    In the field yesterday, Andrew triggered a collapse in a buried weak layer near the Seattle Creek Headwall in a thin spot in the snowpack. This did not result in an avalanche but illustrated that the potential still exists in thin wind scoured areas where the weight of a skier or rider can more easily impact buried weak layers. This problem falls into the low likelihood but high consequence category and to avoid it you can always stick to lower angle terrain.

    (1/16/2025)

    Marked up snowpit from an unusually thin slope.

    Photo: Andrew Schauer

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