Avalanche forecast

Maritime

Valdez Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

The avalanche hazard is Considerable today at low elevations and moderate at middle and upper elevations in the Maritime zone. Human triggered and natural wet loose avalanches will be likely below 1000ft. In the afternoon wet loose will also be likely on south and west aspects at all elevations. At middle and upper elevations, shallow storm slabs will be possible to trigger up to 1’ in depth. 

Avalanche forecasts are issued Wednesday-Sunday at 8 am. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Below 1000ft in areas that did not freeze overnight and received rain rather than snow, human triggered wet loose avalanches will be likely on all aspects. If the sun comes out this afternoon, expect a spike in natural wet loose activity on solar aspects at all elevations particularly on south and west faces as the new dry snow warms up and falls apart. 

    Avoid steep slopes especially above terrain traps at low elevations today. Wet loose avalanches can start small, but can entrain large quantities of snow and be very consequential especailly when they run into a terrain trap.

  • Storm Slabs

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

    A storm slab has slowly been building this week and will be the primary driver of instability at middle and upper elevations today. This new snow has fallen on weak, faceted snow which will make it more reactive and take longer to bond to the underlying snow. Take note of how much snow has fallen in the areas you travel, in areas where more than 10” exists expect the hazard to be higher. 

    Hand shears and small test slopes are useful tools for assessing how well the new snow is bonding to older layers. Shooting cracks, recent avalanche activity, and collapsing would all be signs that storm snow instability is increasing. Keep in mind these clues are useful for the upper snowpack, but they will not help you identify persistent weak layers buried deeper in the snowpack (see Problem 2).

    10" of new Storm Snow at 4000' on Gully 1

    04/08/2026

    Photo: Paul Ramseth

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–3

    Weak faceted snow makes up the majority of our snowpack right now, creating multiple layers of concern. There is not one consistent set up you are going to find across our region and each slope should be assessed on an individual basis and should be treated with some skepticism. Pole probing can help you to feel for weak snow below harder layers, but in general it is not advised to try and outmaneuver this problem. Choosing simpler less consequential terrain is the best way to mitigate the hazard.

    New snow and warming temperatures are likely putting some stress on this weak snow. As spring progresses and changes to the snowpack continue to occur, this problem is likely to become more active.

    (4/2/2026)

    Skier triggered avalanche reported on 4/2 in hanging basin just east of The Books. West aspect ~4000'

Avalanche Discussion

Avalanche activity in the last 72 hours:  none

 

Forecast Discussion  

Warmer temperatures have finally come our way and with the addition of new snow, changes are occurring to our snowpack. It may seem gradual at first and hard to notice, but with a weak faceted snowpack we expect that eventually these changes will be more prevalent as the warm temperatures penetrate down to deeper weak layers. Stay heads up out there. Dramatic changes have not occurred for a while and it could be easy to get caught off guard.

Please consider leaving an observation with storm totals and/or any signs of instability or avalanche activity that you encounter to help us paint a clearer picture of this complex and unusual snowpack.

 

For more information regarding our snowpack, see our Season summary, Observations, and avalanche activity sections.  

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