Avalanche forecast

Summit 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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Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

There is a small chance that a person can trigger a large avalanche in the Summit Lake zone. There are several layers of weak snow buried 2 to 4' deep which may still be reactive on isolated slopes. There is also a lingering possibility of triggering a small wind slab avalanche at upper elevations where Friday's winds drifted snow onto weak surfaces. These problems require careful snowpack assessment, and can be managed by avoiding steep, consequential terrain.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Free avalanche outreach events next week on the Kenai Peninsula!

Wednesday, Feb. 26 at the Kenai River Brewery in Soldotna from 6:00 to 7:00 pm - Join forecaster Daniel Krueger to talk about the state of the snowpacks and useful backcountry tips and tricks. More info here.Thursday, Feb. 27 at the Breeze Inn Hotel in Seward from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Join forecaster Mik Dalpes to talk about the state of the snowpacks, mapping resources, and how to interpret stability tests. More info here.

Avalanche problems

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

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

    The Summit Lake zone has received 1" snow in the past 25 days. There may be isolated slopes where a person can trigger a small wind slab avalanche in previously wind-loaded terrain, but these are limited by the amount of soft snow available to be blown around. The bigger concern is the small chance of triggering a large avalanche on weak snow buried deeper in the snowpack. Mik found weak structure on Summit Mtn. on Thursday (details here), which confirms what we have been seeing for most of the season. 

    For now we are in a bit of a holding pattern with this problem. It is unlikely someone will trigger an avalanche deeper in the snowpack until we see another major loading event, but that chance still exists. Keep this in mind if you are moving into steeper terrain, and consider avoiding slopes with higher consequences if an avalanche should occur. This could be larger start zones, or it could be slopes with cliffs, trees, or gullies in the path.

    Glide Avalanches: We're continuing to see glide avalanche activity throughout the forecast area. These avalanches are large and unpredictable, so the only way to manage this problem is to avoid spending time under open glide cracks.

    (2/20/2025)

    Snowpack at 2,400' on Summit Mountain. Poor structure exists with a weak layer of facets below a large 3' slab. 

    Photo: Mik Dalpes

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