Avalanche forecast

Summit Lake

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

An increase in easterly winds overnight will keep wind slab avalanches the main concern again today. These slabs could be up to a foot in depth and found near ridgelines and in cross-loaded gullies. Although unlikely, a surprise avalanche could be triggered on weak snow near the ground. Lastly, keep a lookout for glide cracks and limit time under these.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    After a quiet day in the backcountry yesterday, the east winds kicked up again last night along with some light snowfall (rain below 1500'). It looks as though 1-4" of snow has fallen above 2,000' in the Girdwood and Turnagain Pass areas with Summit Lake and Seward getting left out of the fun. All places saw the easterly winds however, averaging 20-30 mph and gusts near 50. Today a few more snowflakes could fall with winds slowing slightly, 15-20 mph with gusts near 40. 

    What this means for Summit Lake is there could be some small new wind slabs in the higher elevations. These slabs are not likely to be very big, maybe up to a foot thick and confined to those higher elevations that are seeing the bigger winds. If skies clear enough today, keep an eye out for active wind loading and areas where winds may have drifted snow. Cracking in the snow around you and stiffer snow over softer snow are also clues for finding a wind slab. 

    The warm weather yesterday created roller balls and small wet loose avalanches in the mid and lower elevations. Temperatures are a bit cooler today, but we could still see some small moist sluffs in the afternoon.

    Glide Avalanches: Several glide cracks have been slowly opening through the region with one releasing a few days ago on the south end of Seattle Ridge. As always, it's a good habit to look for and avoid being under these glide cracks. They can release into scary avalanches at random. 

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

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

    We continue to track weak snow near the ground in the Summit Lake area. Although it is unlikely that the weight of a person could trigger a large avalanche, we are still aware that a surprise avalanche is never out of the question. It has been about 2 weeks since the last avalanche failed on weak snow near the ground. This was on the south side of Tenderfoot and happened during the outflow northwest wind event when those weak layers were overloaded with wind-drifted snow. Also, last week a skier triggered a whumpf (collapse of a weak layer) on Raven's Ridge. These events tell us an avalanche could still occur with enough weight from wind-drifted snow or a person finding just the right trigger spot. 

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