Avalanche forecast

Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

New snow and wind overnight has brought the storm total to over 3' of new snow since Friday. Temperatures have cooled off so the biggest concern today is the potential for a person to trigger a large avalanche up to 3' deep in new and windblown snow in the upper elevations. The buried surface hoar is now 4' deep in places and there are chances this could be triggered by an avalanche or by a person anywhere above 1,500'. Wet snow problems are less likely today with cooler temperatures, but the sun could change this quickly if it comes out. The way to avoid all of this today is to stick to low angle slopes with nothing steep overhead.

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Avalanche Closure Notification for Wednesday April 9th, 2025, Seward Hwy AND Portage Glacier Hwy

There will be intermittent traffic delays Wednesday April 26th, 2025, on the Seward Highway and Portage Glacier Highway for Avalanche Hazard Reduction work. From mileposts 83 to 88 on the Seward Highway, South of Girdwood and North of Portage, motorists should expect delays of up to 45-60 minutes between 09:00 AM and 12:00 PM. AND From milepost 3 to 5 on the Portage Glacier Highway, motorists should expect delays of 45-60 minutes between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Updates will be posted on the 511 system. http://511.alaska.gov

If you have been traveling in avalanche terrain for at least one season and want to help avalanche researchers develop new tools to assist individuals with managing risk in avalanche terrain, check out this 1-2 minute survey. Participants will be entered to win prizes from Jones Snowboards, BCA, and more!

Avalanche problems

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–3

    Temperatures have cooled off a bit since last weeks incredible warm up, but wet snow problems are still within the realm of what could be happening out there. Many large wet avalanches occurred last week and we don't know if all of that liquid water that infiltrated weak layers has frozen up or if there are places where all this new weight and stress of new snow plus the weight of a person could trigger a wet slab. The sun might come out today, which could quickly heat things up and there could be natural wet loose activity. Roller balls indicate that a person could trigger a wet loose avalanche so watch for those as a pre-cursor.

    New glide avalanches were noticed yesterday morning on Seattle Ridge so this problem is still worth paying attention to. These avalanches continue to run below treeline so give steep slopes some space even when recreating in relatively flat terrain. 

     

    (4/8/2025)

    Very large glide noticed the morning of April 8 on Seattle Ridge. 

    Photo: Carolyn Spencer

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2.5

    This series of cold spring storms is keeping winter alive this week. It looks like just a few inches of new snow fell in Turnagain Pass, but Girdwood picked up another 10" overnight with some moderate winds bringing the storm slab depth to 3' or more in those areas that recieved the most snow since Friday. A few natural storm slab avalanches were noticed on Penguin Mountain yesterday during a clearing in the morning as evidence there are places that are getting overloaded with all of this new snow. Fresh wind slabs formed last night as wind speeds bumped up blowing the new snow into pillows. It's hard to say how touchy this new snow will be today, but a storm or wind slab avalanche could be very large if a person were to trigger one. The safest option is to give the snowpack more time to adjust and stick to low angle slopes today. 

    Today is a good day to be in assessment mode if you are wanting to get onto steeper slopes. The new snow is so deep that one of the best tools may be small test slopes that have no consequences if they fail. Shooting cracks indicate there is energy in the snowpack and it needs more time to adjust. It has cooled off enough that dry loose may be another problem today to add to the list.

    Storm totals below are from 12 AM Friday morning through 6 am this morning:

    • Portage: 11.4" Snow Water Equivalent (SWE), equaling 6 to 9' snow above treeline. 
    • Girdwood: 5.2" SWE equaling 3' snow. 
    • Turnagain Pass: 3.2" SWE equaling 12-30" snow.
    • Summit Lake: 0.9" SWE equaling 6-8" snow.
    • Seward/Lost Lake: 2.9" SWE equaling 16-24" snow.

    Cornice Fall: Cornices could release naturally today or be triggered by a person. A cornice fall could trigger a large slab avalanche below so keep this in mind while traveling below or above these looming giants. 

    (4/8/2025)

    Storm slabs on Penguin Mountain above Girdwood.

    Photo: Caleigh Warner

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    2–3

    The Valentine's Day buried surface hoar was already a scary problem and now it it buried up to 4' deep in places. This problem was feeling impossible to assess because of the lack of feedback or feedback that was inaccurate (stable pit result located next to human-triggered avalanche) and as weak layers get buried deeper they become more difficult to assess. There are still chances a person could trigger a very large avalanche on this layer or a different type of avalanche like a storm or wind slab could be the trigger. Either way, an avalanche this big would be difficult to escape. The good news is we can enjoy the new snow today without worrying about a big avalanche by choosing low angle slopes with nothing steeper above. 

Regions covered