Avalanche forecast

Chilkat Pass

Haines Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Alpine
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Treeline
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Below
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

The road closures continue. New snowfall and lack of access brings a high uncertainty of conditions. Once the border opens, an assessment mindset will be needed to safely gather information about recent storm snow and winds that have affected this area.

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–3

    Keep an eye out for signs of wind slab formation (i.e. wind transport of snow), natural avalanches, shooting cracks, collapsing and whumphing, hollowness, and cohesive surface snow. Test slopes are also useful if they can be tested safely.  Additionally, beware of smaller slopes such as gullies, road-cuts and un-suspecting slopes steeper than 30 degrees that could act as terrain traps where even a small slide could pile snow up quickly and make a rescue very difficult.

Avalanche Discussion

With increased snowfall, it's a good time to reset your mindset and look at the surface snow with new eyes.

The pass did not stay cold enough to fully avoid the end of year melt-freeze crust. Three Guardsman weather station on December 30th temps got above freezing. Nearby, the crust has been confirmed up to 4000'.  When we re-enter the Chilkat Pass, the end of year crust is one of the things we will need to be on the look out for as a sliding surface.

A potential  weak layer of NSF (near surface facet) grains resting below the crust have been observed and distribution along with senstivity remain to be seen especially at elevations above treeline where the crust is less stout. Treat these slopes as guilty until proven innocent. The weak layers above and below the crust could have widespread propagation potential and need to be tracked going forward. 

Our overall warmer and wetter temperature regime this season has helped slow the development of persistent weak layers (PWL's) in the snowpack. However at higher elevations and further inland these grain types can exist, and will require continued assessment.

The people you go out with, the way you communicate, and the way you practice risk reduction as a team throughout the day is equally important as the conditions.

Help us gather information about weather, snowpack, and avalanche activity by reading and submitting field observations. Useful observations can be anonymous and include: 

  • Natural or human-triggered avalanche activity
  • Signs of instability: Cracking, collapsing, or whumphing
  • Red Flag Weather: Precipitation, wind loading, warming temperatures and rain-on-snow
  • Surface hoar growth, snow depth, persistent weak layers, etc
  • Snow stability tests, or pit result and location, elevation, aspect, etc 

Were you caught, carried, injured or buried in a slide? We are all human and can benefit from lessons learned, please report incidents to Haines Avalanche Center staff confidentially.

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