Storm Slabs
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Likely
- Size
- 1–2.5
Recent Avalanches: Numerous avalanches were reported yesterday in Girdwood Valley including a large slab avalanche on Goat Mtn. Several small avalanches were triggered in the Tincan trees.
As the storm passes we are left with a touchy snowpack that is more dangerous than it has been in the backcountry for a while. Another 2 to 4” of snow fell yesterday with around 12” of storm snow sitting on top of a layer of weak, faceted snow. This setup will make it easy to trigger an avalanche around 1’ in the new snow and 2’ deep in wind loaded terrain at all elevations. An observation yesterday reported widespread collapsing and triggered multiple avalanches on test slopes in the Tincan trees.
Large natural avalanches were observed in the Girdwood Valley as well as collapsing snow on Raggedtop. Human triggered avalanches will likely be larger and more consequential around Girdwood.
All these signs are telling us that the snow is unstable and needs time to adjust to the new load. Based on what we know about the current setup a conservative day in the backcountry is recommended. Look for signs of snow instability such as recent avalanche activity, shooting cracks, test slopes that are sliding, and collapsing snow. You can avoid this problem by enjoying fresh snow on low angle slopes.