Avalanche forecast

Seward and Lost Lake

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

Lingering wind slabs that have formed over the past week of strong northwesterly winds may still be reactive today. These will be 1 to 2' deep on average and are most likely to exist near ridgelines, in steep gullies, or below convex rollovers. Travel carefully where there is stiff snow sitting on top of softer snow, and avoid steep terrain if you notice warning signs like shooting cracks or collapsing.

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Avalanche Rescue Workshop at Glen Alps has been POSTPONED to Sunday, February 9th.  The workshop is 100% free of charge and all experience levels are welcome. Click HERE for more information.

We're on a brewery tour next week! Come out for two free evenings of conversations about the world of snow and avalanches:

  • State of the Snowpack talk - Tuesday, February 4th, 6-7pm at Onsight Brewing in Anchorage. Join Dr. John Sykes and Mary Gianotti for a night of snowpack discussion at a new venue! More details HERE. 
  • Forecaster Chat - Thursday, February 6th, 6-7:30 p.m. at Girdwood Brewing Co. in Girdwood. Andrew Schauer will discuss recent CNFAC research and highlight ways it can help your backcountry game. Details HERE.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    It's been a windy week in Seward, but it is looking like we will finally see a break today. The snow that has been blowing around for the past week should stabilize quickly, but there is still a chance you will be able to find reactive wind slabs today. This will be most likely at higher elevations, especially near ridgelines, convex rolls, and in steep gullies. This was the case with an avalanche incident in the Turnagain Pass area on Friday, and we expect conditions are similar in the Seward zone.

    Keep all of this in mind if you are trying to access steep terrain. Take indicators like shooting cracks or collapsing as a clear sign that the snowpack is unstable where you are traveling, and consider using small terrain features as test slopes to see how these recent wind slabs are behaving before moving into bigger terrain. As always, if you are uncertain about the conditions you can avoid the problem entirely by staying out of steep terrain. With quiet weather in the forecast for the foreseeable future, we are expecting a trend of improving stability this week.

    Cornices: There are many large cornices that will begin to heat up during the temperature inversion that is settling in this week. These often catch people by surprise, breaking back much further from the edge than we'd expect. Keep that in mind if you are traveling along ridgelines, and be sure to limit spending time under them since they can release naturally.

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