Avalanche forecast

Maritime

Valdez Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 8 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

The avalanche hazard remains at Moderate above 1500 feet and low below.  It will be possible for a person to trigger an avalanche less than 1 foot deep on specific lee slopes and cross loaded gullys.  Natural avalanches are unlikely.

There is no hazard rating at low elevation for the Maritime zone due to a lack of snow.

Avalanche Forecasts will be issued 3 days/week during December.  5-day/week forecasts will return in January once 2026 funding comes through.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    Strong north winds with gusts up to 75 mph overnight will quickly redistribute the few inches of new snow that has fallen over the past 48 hours. While this is not a significant amount of new snow that is available for transport, shallow wind slabs 4-10 inches in depth will likely form on specific lee slopes. The underlying surface is bulletproof, wind packed snow that will create a slick effective bed surface for these wind slabs to run on.

    Pay attention to wind redistribution patterns, such as fresh wind lips, wind direction, and wind speed.  These clues and factors can help you anticipate where wind slabs may exist.  Test slopes can give you an idea of the sensitivity of fresh wind slabs, however the depth can vary depending upon terrain.

Avalanche Discussion

Avalanche activity in the last 72 hours:  None

Forecast Discussion:  

While clear skies have given way to clouds and light snowfall, the wind remains ever constant with strong north winds continuing to strip what little new snowfall we have received over the past 48 hours. Winds maxed out at 75 mph overnight on Thompson Pass and are forecasted to stay strong into Monday. Moderate wind speeds of 15-50 mph are more effective at creating wind slabs while higher wind speeds 50 mph and up are so strong that the snow will be blown away (sublimated) into the air. Protected areas that saw strong winds but not as strong as in the gaps, and high elevation ridgelines will be the most likely areas you may encounter a thin reactive wind slab.  Gaps like Thompson Pass and high elevation ridgelines exposed to the full force of theses north winds will be striped and the new snow will be sublimated into the air.

The December drought has left us with a thin faceted (weak) snowpack.  This is not a current stability issue, however once meaningful snowfall arrives we will likely have various avalanche problems.

Additional Details:  There is no field data from the Maritime zone due to low snow coverage and thick brush restricting access.  Numerous Glide avalanches have released in the Maritime zone in the mid elevation band.  Some of these may have failed without previous visible glide cracks.  Avoid travel below glide cracks as they can fail at any time.  Their likelihood of failure is independent of the snowpack stability.  Check out the season summary tab for more information on the development of the snowpack.

 

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