Avalanche forecast

Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Alpine
4 · High
Treeline
4 · High
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

A warm and rainy storm is raging today. Winds are topping out around 100 mph and 2-3 inches of rain is expected with heavy snowfall above 2,000'. Avalanche danger is HIGH. We can expect to see natural storm snow avalanches occurring in the upper elevations and wet snow avalanches in mid elevations. Below 1,000' where bare ground exists, debris from larger avalanches above could run down slide paths into this snow-free zone.

*Travel in avalanche terrain is NOT recommended while the storm peaks today.

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Special Announcements

Looking to dust off your rescue skills? Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center is hosting a free avalanche rescue workshop next Saturday, December 14 at the Hatcher Pass – Fishhook (Marmot) Lot. Visit hpavalanche.org for more info. 

Avalanche problems

  • Glide Cracks

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

    The wet weather is causing many glide cracks to release into ugly looking avalanches. We can expect this trend to continue today and likely the next several days. During the brief break in weather Saturday, we saw new glide avalanches on Max's, Sunburst, and in Main Bowl on the backside of Seattle Ridge. There are so many brown streaks indicating glide avalanches sometimes it's hard to tell what is new and what is old. But the main story is they are still releasing in areas commonly traveled and that's a concern. 

    Multiple glide avalanches released in the past three days above the Seattle Ridge uptrack.

    Photo: Chris Stinson

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely
    Size
    2–3

    From Girdwood to Seward strong winds and heavy rain are being seen this morning. The Sunburst weather station just reported a wind gust at 119 mph! Snow appears to be falling above 2,000' in most areas except Summit Lake where the rain/snow line is closer to 1,500'. This storm is packing more of a punch than those last week and we are expecting larger and more widespread avalanches as a result. 

    At elevations above 2,000' where heavy snowfall is occurring we can expect that storm snow avalanches are happening. These would be in the form of storm slabs, wind slabs, and loose snow avalanches. Due to such strong winds, most of these will likely be some kind of wind slab. These avalanches could be anywhere from a foot thick to several feet thick depending on winds and snowfall. As mentioned above, as the storm continues, traveling on or under slopes 30 degrees or steeper (avalanche terrain) is not recommended. 

    Rough guess at snowfall totals above 2,000':Girdwood Valley:  4-12" yesterday, another 20-30" todayPortage Valley:  20-30" yesterday, another 30-50" todayTurnagain Pass:  1-3" yesterday, another 15-20" todaySummit lake:  1-2" yesterday, another 10-15" todaySeward/Lost Lake:  4-10" yesterday, another 20-30" today

    Precipitation totals from Monday morning through Tuesday morning. This will fall as mostly rain below 2000' and snow above that.

    Graphic courtesy of NWS Anchorage.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2

    Wet avalanches in the middle elevations are likely occurring naturally. These could be either wet loose slides or wet slabs. We saw a couple wet slab avalanches with the last storm a few days ago. Pictured here is what we think is a wet slab that released on the northerly aspect of Tincan's CFR ridge around 2,000' in elevation. More avalanches like this could be seen today. 

    (12/7/2024)

    Closeup of potential wet slabs on the north side of Tincan Ridge's CFR. Seen Saturday, Dec 7 and likely occurred on the 5th or 6th. 

    Photo: Andrew Schauer

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