Chugach State Park

Recent Avalanches:  Over the past week, we have had four observations in the Chugach State Park with no reported avalanches. There have been reports of glide cracks, old wind slabs, and cornice falls in our neighboring “no advisory” land snowpack in Bird Valley. This area is not technically in our zone, but we still wanted to mention it if anyone is traveling in that area. That also goes for the large cornice on the Bird Ridge Trail. We want to remind folks to give cornices a wide berth and travel on the windward side of the cornice, far away from the edge.

Cornice on Bird Ridge Trail. Photo taken by Jose Ramos-Leon: 1.18.24

Weather Recap: In the past week, the Front Range has received no new snow and has had mostly cold, clear, calm weather. With an inversion in place, temperatures have ranged between negative teens at the valley bottoms to balmy low thirties at higher elevations. At the base of the South Fork of Eagle River Valley, temperatures dipped as low as -18 F. Brrr!

Weather Forecast: The cold, mostly clear, calm spell is looking like it will continue throughout the weekend. Clear skies are in the forecast for today and tomorrow, except for a low-lying valley fog below 3,000 feet. There is a chance of light new snow on Saturday morning and late Sunday evening. Ridgetop winds are forecast to be light and variable all weekend. Temperatures will be between lows of -15 F and highs in the single digits. Bundle up! We are dipping into low temperatures this weekend, where frostbite or other cold injuries could be a possibility. Your extremities- hands, feet, ears, or tip of your nose are most vulnerable to cold weather injuries. Try to keep those areas covered and watch out for the first signs of frostbite (numbness, clumsiness, and cold skin).

There are many patches of sastrugi across the Front Range right now. Photo by John Sykes: 1.24.24

Snow depth continues to vary in the region, ranging from bare ground to over eight feet of snow with an average of about three feet of snow depth. Riding conditions are currently poor, with many patches of windboard and sastrugi. Expect your thighs to burn and to be able to hear every turn you make for miles on the hard snow surfaces. On the bright side, the wind crust is now supportable in many places instead of breakable. We recommend heading south or north (Hatchers or Turnagain) for better snow quality this weekend.

At this point, it has been four weeks since the last significant avalanche in the Chugach State Park. There were no significant loading events this week, no concerning stability test results, and a cold, quiet weather forecast for this weekend. The chance of someone triggering an avalanche this weekend is low. However, this doesn’t mean there is no avalanche danger.

Wind Slab: There is a chance of triggering an older wind slab in the upper elevation terrain along ridgelines, especially in spots that have wind slabs on top of facets. To identify areas with wind slabs, feel for firmer, hollow-sounding snow on the surface.

Persistent Slab: There is a persistent weak layer we are monitoring at the base of the snowpack at elevations over 2,500’. We are still highlighting this layer of depth hoar and basal facets (weak, sugary snow) to keep it in mind when the next major loading event takes place. This type of layer also has the lingering potential to cause an avalanche if you happen to find the trigger point in a thinner spot in the snowpack.

ECTP13 on a wind slab near-surface facets interface buried roughly 15 cm down from the snow surface. Photo: 1.24.24