Avalanche forecast

Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Glide cracks releasing into avalanches remain the main concern for the Turnagain Pass forecast zone. Continuing to look for and avoid spending any time under these dark cracks is recommended. Otherwise, the snowpack is generally stable and triggering an avalanche is unlikely. The exception would be triggering a small slab in steep rocky terrain. 

Avalanche problems

  • Glide Cracks

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

    It has been 10 days since the last snowfall at Turnagain Pass. Although Girdwood picked up a couple of new inches yesterday, everywhere south of Girdwood was high and dry. With possibly another week of dry weather and snow surface conditions less than ideal in many areas (a mix of wind affected snow, pockets of soft snow, and hard scoured ridges) this is a great time to practice your avalanche rescue skills, which is exactly what we did yesterday! 

    From the parking lots we could not see any new glide avalanches, yet the cracks are still on the move and opening up. Just because there might be a lull in avalanches doesn't mean we can get complacent. Always be wary of glide cracks and limit, as best you can, time under them. As we've been saying, these are unpredictable in nature and can release at any time.

    If it wasn't for the glide issue we'd be at a low avalanche danger at Turnagain. Meaning small avalanches in very steep wind loaded terrain could be triggering, but in general it's unlikely a person would trigger a slide. The last avalanche that occurred within the snowpack (not including glide avalanches) was almost a week ago and pictured in the media gallery below. 

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