Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

The northwest wind is forecast to blow a little bit today. It shouldn't be enough to move a lot of snow around so the chances of a human triggering an avalanche remain unlikely.  The sun is forecast to shine again today. Watch for rollerballs on south facing slopes to know that a human could trigger a small "sluff" or loose avalanche and give cornices some space. Although it is unlikely, a small new wind slab or an old stubborn one in steep upper elevation terrain should stay on our radar. A new glide avalanche occurred yesterday. Watch for large cracks and wrinkles in the snow and avoid traveling under them. 

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Avalanche Rescue Workshop at Glen Alps has been POSTPONED to Sunday, February 9th.  The workshop is free and all experience levels are welcome. Click HERE for more information.

It's not too late to catch us on our brewery tour this week. The Girdwood Brewery is hosting us tomorrow for a conversation about the world of snow and avalanches:

• Forecaster Chat - Thursday, February 6th, 6-7:30 p.m. at Girdwood Brewing Co. in Girdwood. Andrew Schauer will discuss recent CNFAC research and highlight ways it can help your backcountry game. Details HERE.

With a northwest breeze and the inversion breaking down, it should stay a little cooler today so we may not see as much sun effect as the last several days. There may be a crust today on those slopes that got baked in the sun the last few days that may not soften in todays conditions depending on the wind and temperatures. The wind isn't expected to be enough to create wind slabs large enough to become a problem, but keep an eye out for changing conditions especially in the afternoon when the wind is forecast to increase the most. Blowing snow indicates a slab could be forming where it is being deposited.  Fresh wind slabs will often give feedback like a shooting crack to let us know they need more time to stabilize. 

Recent Avalanches: Yesterday, a new glide avalanche was spotted on the southern end of Turnagain Pass northwest of Peak 4,940'. Saturday through Monday, while the inversion was in place and temperatures were above freezine in the upper elevations, there were reports of small wet loose avalanches or "sluffs" being triggered naturally. One larger sluff was observed on Monday as it was occurring in the 20 Mile drainage (video below). Almost a week ago now there was a human triggered wind slab in Lynx Creek last Friday. On Monday, John and Andrew investigated the very large avalanche that occurred in Ragged Bowl on January 25. Check out that video below and a report will be available soon.

Cornices: Temperatures in the upper elevations are cooling this morning so conditions aren't as ripe for a cornice fall as they have been the last few days, but giving them some room on the ridge and watching them while passing underneath is still a good plan. 

Glide avalanches: With another new glide avalanche yesterday we are keeping a close eye on the glide situation. Glide cracks are popping up across zones (we haven't noticed any in Seward, but maybe we just haven't seen them?). They are difficult to see from below so try to get a view of the route from afar especially if the plan is to climb something steep. Choose an up route that gives any glide crack plenty of space as they could fail at any time. 

Safe Travel: We practice companion rescue once a month at the avalanche center to help us feel more confident that we can recover if we get caught in an avalanche (this happens to avalanche professionals more often than you would expect). Consider adding this to your travel plan, if it isn't there already, that includes safe up routes and watching your partners.