Bulletin d’avalanche

Continental

Valdez Avalanche Center
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Danger d’avalanche

Alpin
3 · Marqué
Limite forestière
3 · Marqué
Sous la limite
3 · Marqué
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Périmé — ce bulletin a expiré last year. Vous consultez des conditions passées, pas le bulletin en cours.

Points saillants

The avalanche hazard is Considerable at all elevations.  Different avalanche problems exist depending upon elevation.  Below 2000 feet wet loose avalanches are likely on slopes steeper than 35°.  Above 2000 feet, human triggered avalanches are likely up to 2 feet in depth that involves the new snow. Natural wet loose avalanches will be possible on solar aspects if the sun breaks through the clouds.

Avalanche Forecasts are issued Wednesday-Sunday at 8 am.  

Problèmes avalancheux

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Likely
    Taille
    1–2

    The weather broke for a few hours yesterday allowing for a look at storm totals at upper elevations and gave people a chance to test some slopes.  Multiple human triggered avalanches size D1-2 were reported and observed involving the new snow. Settled storm totals of up to 20 inches were observed yesterday at 5000' in Gully 1.  Storm totals gradually decrease with elevation and become more dense. Below 2000' there is only a couple inches of new snow and the avalanche problem changes from storm slab to wet loose (see problem 2).

    Snowfall has been slowly accumulating since the 5th and has been coming in pulses, which has led to density changes within the storm snow that can act as failure planes.  In addition to weakness within the storm snow,  there is a concern that faceted snow exists on a crust at the interface of the new /old in some places.  A D2 human triggered avalanche on the nose of Crudbusters shows a crown with a propagation length that indicates faceted snow at the interface rather than just a storm slab that needs time to settle.  Details are not clear but it appears that at least one person of a group of 2 were caught and partially buried.  More observations will be necessary to understand the new/old interface.  But, what is easy to understand is that snow continues to accumulate and with no clear weather to allow the storm slab to settle and bond, human triggered avalanches will remain likely in terrain steeper than 32°.  Wind loaded slopes and convex terrain features will be the most prone.

    Conservative terrain choices and cautious route finding are recommended.  Only expose one person at a time to avalanche prone slopes and maintain good communication within your group.

    Skier triggered avalanche on the Nose of Crudbusters. 20 inches deep.  SS-ASu-R3-D2-I

    Photo: Oliver

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Likely
    Taille
    1–2.5

    Above freezing temperatures and rain on snow continue at low elevations.  At this point the snowpack is saturated below 1500'.  Wet loose avalanches are likely to be human triggered and could occur naturally in steep terrain at low elevations.  

    This avalanche problem is elevation dependant and the chances of wet loose hazard will decrease as you go up in elevation.  One way to determine the strength of the snowpack and the likelihood of wet loose activity is by how supportive the snowpack is.  If the surface snow cant support you on your feet and you posthole to your waist, wet loose avalanches are likely in steep terrain.

    If the sun is able to poke out at any point today, solar aspects will quickly become reactive at all elevations.

     

    (4/2/2025)

    Skier triggered wet loose avalanche near Worthington Glacier toe.

    Photo: Gareth Brown

Avalanche Discussion

Observed Avalanche Activity last 72 hours: 

Multiple D1-2 Skier triggered avalanches were reported in Gully 1,North Oddessey, and Crudbusters

Forecast Discussion:

The avalanche problem that a user encounters will depend upon the elevations traveled.  Wet loose is a concern at low elevations in steep terrain while storm slabs are gradually building in depth above 2000'.   Field observations remain limited at upper elevations at this point.  Storm totals vary with elevation, but storm slabs up to 2 feet in depth can be expected at upper elevation.  Continued snow in the short and long term forecast will continue to build the depth of storm slabs and put stress on the upper snowpack.  Without a break in the weather, expect for instabilities to exist in the upper snowpack.  Faceted snow at the interface of the new/old snow exists in some locations, evidenced by the wide propagation of the Crudbusters human triggered avalanche. The distribution of this weak layer is unknown but is likely to be concentrated at upper elevations where temperatures did not get warm enough to fully break down this layer that was created during the March high pressure.  Wind and warm temperatures broke down this weak layer to some degree prior to its burial, which will make distribution spotty and assessment difficult.

Warm and wet weather are forecasted to continue for the foreseeable future.

The 3/16 layer of Buried surface hoar has been removed from our avalanche problem list.  Continued observation of this layer within our forecast area has shown the weak layer in question to be highly deformed (rounding), laying flat, mixed with other rounded grains and unreactive in stability tests.  The most recent spike in temperatures has further decreased the likelihood of this layer being reactive in the our forecast area as warm temperatures and moisture continue to promote rounding and mixing of the layer with other rounded grains.  This layer should continue to be monitored for those travelling outside of the forecast area especially in zones to the south and east of Marshall Pass where this layer continues to be reported as preserved.

Additional Information:

Watch out for cornices. A couple of cornice falls have been observed in the Continental region as well as more remote zones outside the forecast area.

A weather and snowpack season history is available by clicking on the Season Summary tab which is located below the bottom line statement once you have entered the full forecast.

Season Snowfall Data

Location 24 hour Snowfall Inches- 4/10 24 hour Snow Water Equivalent Inches Height of Snow April Snowfall Inches Season Total Snowfall Valdez    0    .15    35     0 N/O     Thompson Pass    2    N/O   N/O     0    ~500 Nicks    1    N/O    140    0 N/O 46 Mile    0     0   18    0 N/O

Régions couvertes