Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Avalanche problems

• 

  Wind Slabs

  N

  NE

  E

  SE

  S

  SW

  W

  NW

  • Alpine
  • Treeline
  • Below treeline

  Likelihood

  Possible

  Size

  1–2

  Recent Avalanches: There were skier-triggered avalanches on  Captain's Chair in the Lynx Creek drainage last Tuesday, and on Notch Mountain in Girdwood last Wednesday. Both of these likely failed on a weak layer of faceted snow buried roughly 1 to 1.5' deep by last week's storm.

  Field observations reported widespread wind transport of the soft surface snow across much of the forecast region yesterday. Luckily, the core area of Turnagain Pass and Girdwood was largely spared, with northwest winds mostly staying light, averaging 5 to 10 mph with gusts to 20 mph, which should help preserve some of the soft surface snow.

  Where wind slabs did form yesterday, they could still be touchy today due to the soft faceted snow they formed on top of. Expect to find wind slabs around 1' deep at upper elevations near ridgelines and convex features. To identify locations with wind slabs, you can look for shooting cracks on the snow surface, hollow feeling pillows of snow, or use test slopes to check how reactive wind drifts are to the weight of a skier or rider.

  In isolated sheltered terrain features, it is still possible to trigger an avalanche under the soft surface snow on a layer of facets about 1 to 2 feet deep. It has been almost a week since the last avalanche on this weak layer, so this type of avalanche is trending towards unlikely. 

  Dry loose avalanches in steep terrain are also likely today and could run faster than normal. These are typically not large enough to bury a person, but they can knock you off your feet in steep terrain.