Avalanche forecast

Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

The weather has quieted down significantly, but southwest ridgetop winds are forecast today. If this occurs, fresh wind slabs up to 1' deep that are sensitive to the weight of a person will build in the upper elevations. There's a chance a person or machine could trigger an older, deeper (up to 3') and more stubborn wind slab above 1,000' from the strong winds that occurred Tuesday evening.  Wind slabs can be found below ridgelines and on the edges of cross loaded gullies. Softer snow can be found in areas protected from Tuesday's strong winds.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Today is the second day after a storm that brought quite a bit more snow in some places than the 12" recorded at the Turnagain SNOTEL yesterday. Riders on Seattle Ridge found 18 to 36" of new snow in places protected from the wind. It sounds like conditions on Sunburst were more wind affected in places, so the conditions are variable after a big storm with high winds. Wind slabs with various sizes and sensitivity could be found today. Watch for blowing snow as a sign fresh new winds slabs are forming that should be fairly small. Feel for firm snow over softer snow to know you are traveling on a wind slab. The old stubborn ones are the ones that will let you get way out onto a slope before releasing. 

    There was some natural storm slab activity during the peak of the storm Tuesday night (see photos below). Due to lack of avalanche activity yesterday and stable snowpit results we think the snowpack is stabilizing to the new snow and wind slabs are the concern today.

    Cornice: Cornices may not fail naturally today, but they have grown large after all of these storms and strong winds. Give them some space on the ridgelines as they could still be sensitive to the weight of a person or machine and they break back further than expected.

    Dry Loose Avalanches: Dry loose avalanches continue to be observed in our forecast areas. These should be fairly small, but watch for consequences below like rocks or cliffs in case we get caught up in "sluff" by surprise.

    Deep Persistent Slab: We haven't seen any evidence of this problem since the weak layer was buried over 2 weeks ago so we removed it from the problem list. The south side of Turnagain Pass has not seen much (or any?) traffic with the difficult access and lower snow amounts near the road. Let us know what you find if you venture into this area.

    (1/22/2025)

    A view of Seattle Ridge where there are some slabs that released during Tuesday night's storm and some dry loose "sluffs." The gullies are cross loaded from the strong wind on Tuesday.

    Photo: Daniel Krueger

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