Avalanche forecast

Summit Lake

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
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Highlights

There's still a chance that weak snow near the ground in the upper elevations could cause a large avalanche in the Summit Lake area. We recommend assessing the snowpack before committing to big, steep terrain as this is the only way to get information about this type of problem. It typically won't give us signs like whumpfing and shooting cracks. The only way to completely avoid it is to stick to slopes less than 30 degrees.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    There is still a weak layer of snow near the ground that was responsible for large avalanches a few weeks ago. Wind loaded areas are the most likely places we could trigger one of these avalanches. That being said, we are gathering new information this week that is telling us a few things:

    • Right now, this problem only exists above 2,500' because below that elevation there is a stout crust on the surface. 
    • Snowpit information is telling us it is becoming more difficult for a human to trigger an avalanche on this layer.
    • The structure is still poor above 2,500' where a slab exists (usually wind loaded places).

    This is mostly encouraging information and leads us to believe chances are getting smaller that a human could trigger this type of avalanche. However, poor structure means there's still a chance it could avalanche and we don't know exactly how much stress it would take. 

    Wind slab: Daniel found some small 2 to 6" wind slabs yesterday that were difficult to trigger. We might find one of these slabs in the upper elevations of the Summit area today, but they should be unlikely to trigger and small in size. Like I mentioned above, these wind loaded spots are the most likley place we could trigger one of the larger persistent slab avalanches so be especially wary of wind loaded slopes.

    Glide avalanches: We removed glide avalanches from the problem list today because it has been almost 2 weeks since we have seen or heard of one of these avalanches in the Summit area. This is still a widespread problem in Turnagain Pass and Girdwood. If you see any new glide activity in Summit let us know!

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