Chugach State Park

Recent Avalanches: Over the past week, we have had five observations with one observation documenting small to large natural dry loose avalanches, several cornice falls, and small to large natural wet loose avalanches along the southerly aspect of Hanging Valley in the South Fork of Eagle River. We rely heavily on public observations, we always appreciate any information you all have to share.  Thank you!

Weather Recap: From Friday to Tuesday, the Front Range had sustained ridgetop winds predominately from the SSE between 12 to 25 mph with little to no precipitation. That pattern changed midweek, between 3″-5″ of new snow came in Wednesday and Thursday with light variable winds. Temperatures this week ranged from 20F to 40F with an average of around 32F.

The 3-5″ of new snow on top of a supportable crust improved snow surface riding conditions on Wednesday and Thursday.  We are right on the brink of spring and have been having trending warmer temperatures. It is not a bad idea to start tracking surface conditions on southerly slopes that may start to form melt-freeze crusts.

Weather Forecast: As mentioned in the bottom line, the big concern this weekend is the High Wind Watch issued for Anchorage Hillside and the western Turnagain Arm. Two separate systems are forecast to hit the Front Range. The first event is forecast to start today (Friday) and is expected to be weaker (sustained 30 to 40 mph winds from the SE with gusts up to 55 mph) than the stronger system that will move into Southcentral late Saturday and taper off early Sunday morning. The second system is forecast to bring sustained 30 to 50 mph winds from the SSE with gusts up to 75 mph. Along with the two major wind events, 2″ to 10″ of new snow is predicted for this weekend.

Wind scoured North Bowl. Photo: 3.26.24

Wind Slabs: The wind events in the forecast for this weekend are more significant than the normal Front Range wind events (and the Front Range gets a lot of wind). Winds slab avalanches are the main concern going into this weekend. There is roughly 3″ to 5″ of previous snow available for transport. The size of avalanches and the likelihood of avalanches will depend on how much new snow comes in with the two major wind events. Avoiding steep wind loaded terrain will be essential this weekend. There is a good chance for natural activity this weekend, so be sure to pay attention to steep slopes overhead and limit time spent in avalanche runout zones.

High Wind Watch for the Anchorage area this weekend. Photo: Alaska News Source 3.29.24

Persistent Slabs: We are still paying close attention to a layer of near-surface facets roughly ~13″ down from the snow surface at higher elevations (elevations above 3,500′) and have been tracking a weak layer of facets at the bottom of the snowpack. We have been getting consistent test results on the near-surface facet layer, however, we have not seen any avalanches failing deeper in the snowpack for over a month at this point. The likelihood of someone triggering an avalanche on one of these layers is low, but it is still something we are monitoring and keeping on our radar, especially with the loading events coming in this weekend.

Snowpack structure at higher elevations in South Fork of Eagle River. Photo: 3.26.24