Boletín de aludes

Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
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Peligro de aludes

Thu
Alta montaña
2 · Moderado
Límite del bosque
2 · Moderado
Bajo el límite
1 · Débil
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Desactualizado: este boletín caducó 6 months ago. Estás viendo condiciones pasadas, no el boletín vigente.

Lo esencial

Strong northwesterly winds will blow whatever soft snow is left into a fresh round of reactive wind slabs, likely 6 to 12" deep. These will be most likely at and above treeline, near ridgelines, convex rolls, and in steep gullies. A stubborn deeper weak layer, buried 2 to 6' deep on average, remains a concern in all terrain above 2500'. Although the chances of triggering an avalanche on that weak layer are small, the potential size of those avalanches is enough reason to consider avoiding consequential terrain.

Problemas de aludes

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alta montaña
    • Límite del bosque
    • Bajo el límite del bosque
    Probabilidad
    Possible
    Tamaño
    1–2

    Recent Avalanches: Two human-triggered avalanches occurred last Thursday in Raggedtop Bowl (get the details here and here). Several natural wind slab avalanches occurred last week from the outflow wind event. The last known avalanches failing on deeper weak layers occurred 11 days ago during a north wind event. 

    Strong northerly winds have been at work trying to find snow to move around since late yesterday afternoon. Although last week's winds have already stripped most of the soft snow from the surface, this round will likely still be able to blow some snow into small but reactive wind slabs, up to 6 to 12" deep. Some weather models are actually showing the highest winds in the middle elevation bands, which means this is something to pay attention to even before you get up into the alpine.

    The most likely place to find this problem will be in steep terrain near ridgelines, convex rolls, and in steep gullies. After a week of windy conditions, it will be hard to recognize which slopes have been freshly loaded. Any warning signs like shooting cracks or collapsing are clear indicators of unstable snow, but these will not always show up before triggering an avalanche. Look for better surface conditions and a more stable snowpack in terrain with soft snow on the surface that has somehow dodged the wind over the past week.

     

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alta montaña
    • Límite del bosque
    • Bajo el límite del bosque
    Probabilidad
    Unlikely
    Tamaño
    2–3

    Not much has changed with the deep, stubborn layer of faceted snow that is buried 2 to 6' deep on average in Turnagain Pass. It has been several weeks since we last saw an avalanche on this layer, but we are still finding a poor structure when we're digging down to look at it (details here and here). At this point, it is unlikely you will trigger an avalanche on this layer until we see a major loading event. However, the potential size of an avalanche and the continued poor structure that we are finding is enough to keep us out of consequential terrain for now.

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