Chugach State Park Archives
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October 16 UPDATE Snow in the higher elevations! Snow is starting to accumulate above 2,500′ but it’s still snow-free and fall-like in valley bottoms. A warm storm on the weekend of Oct 12-13 deposited anywhere from a foot to 3 feet of heavy dense snow in the upper elevations and of course heavy rain in [Read More] | |
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Fall 2024 has arrived! Snow is starting to fall on the peaks and with that we’d like to announce some upcoming events and early season avalanche reminders. Upcoming Events: Oct 10, 8:00pm- Snow Stories 6.0 – Annual BearTooth Avalanche Center Fundraiser! Get stoked for the winter with the Friends of the Chugach Avalanche Center. The night [Read More] | |
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We are no longer issuing Weekend Avalanche Outlooks for the Chugach State Park area. Although the forecast season has finished, the avalanche season has not – please see below for some tips on NAVIGATING THE BACKCOUNTRY IN SPRINGTIME. Current conditions? Keep tabs on our Observation Page! We will be posting any observations/reports sent in to us. “Like” [Read More] | |
 Wind Slabs
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 Wet Loose
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, April 20th– Sunday, April 21st Bottom Line: After a brief (but beautiful) period of amazing snow surface conditions, the wind has hit the Front Range again. A wind slab is going to be the most likely type of avalanche to encounter this weekend. In addition to wind slabs, loose wet avalanches [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, April 13th– Sunday, April 14th Bottom Line: A lingering wind slab from the wind events on Thursday and today (Friday, April 12th) is going to be the most likely way to trigger an avalanche this weekend. The Front Range received 7″ to 16″ of new snow early last week, which did [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Wet Loose
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, April 6th– Sunday, April 7th Bottom Line: Wind slabs are going to be the most likely way to trigger an avalanche this weekend. We have 5″-7″ of new snow forecast with several inches of previous snow available for transport. There are two wind events, the larger event is Saturday night into Sunday [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, March 30th – Sunday, March 31st Bottom Line: With a High Wind Watch in the forecast for the Anchorage area, dangerous avalanche conditions are expected for the Front Range this weekend. Two wind events are in the forecast bringing sustained 30-50 mph winds with gusts up to 75 mph from the [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, March 23 – Sunday, March 24 Bottom Line: Strong southeasterly winds are expected to pick up this weekend, which once again makes wind slabs the main avalanche concern for Chugach State Park. With sustained speeds of 40 to 60 mph expected, the chances of natural and human-triggered avalanches up to a [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, March 16th – Sunday, March 17th Bottom Line: Fresh wind slabs are going to be the most likely way to trigger an avalanche this weekend. We have between 1-5″ of previous snow available for transport at the moment. Additionally, 1-4″ of new snow is forecast to come this weekend in conjunction [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, March 9th – Sunday, March 10th Bottom Line: Sustained 10-20 mph winds with gusts up to 40 mph are forecast to start Sunday morning and taper off by Sunday evening. 1-4″ of new snow is forecast to come in at the same time as the wind event. Wind slabs are going [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, March 2nd – Sunday, March 3rd Bottom Line: For anyone headed out to the mountains on this cold, clear, blue skies weekend, wind slabs are going to be the most likely way to trigger an avalanche. Last weekend the Front Range received 7-9″ of light, low-density snow. That snow has been [Read More] | |
 Storm Slabs
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 Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, February 24th – Sunday, February 25th Bottom Line: Dangerous avalanche conditions are expected for the Front Range this weekend. The Front Range is expected to receive 8″ to 12″ of new snow combined with sustained 10-20 mph winds with gusts up to 35 mph. The snow coming in is forecast to [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, February 17th – Sunday, February 18th Bottom Line: After a week of very strong winds and a few notable natural avalanches, triggering a wind slab avalanche remains a concern going into the weekend. Additionally due to the wind affected snow overlying a buffet of persistent weak layers, the potential to find the [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, February 10th – Sunday, February 11th *Update, February 12th, 2 pm: -DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS IN CHUGACH STATE PARK – A large natural avalanche hit Hiland Road in the South Fork of Eagle River this afternoon. Initial reports indicate the avalanche hit the road near mile 7, leaving a debris pile [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, February 3rd – Sunday, February 4th *UPDATE: 1pm Monday, February 5th: Two significant human-triggered avalanches occurred in the Falls Creek area off the Seward Highway on February 4th. The avalanches were thought to have failed on the layer of facets below the wind crust beneath the last two most recent storm [Read More] | |
 Normal Caution
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Jan. 27th – Sunday, Jan. 28th *UPDATE: 7am Monday, January 29 Avalanche danger rising with an unexpected foot of new snow. Sunday night (Jan 28) up to a foot of new snow fell in the Anchorage Front Range. Avalanches composed of the new snow are to be expected on slopes steep [Read More] | |
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Normal Caution
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Jan. 20th – Sunday, Jan. 21st Bottom Line: It has been three weeks since the last significant avalanches in the Chugach State Park. Human-triggered avalanches are unlikely but not impossible. Be sure to maintain safe travel protocols by only exposing one person at a time to steep terrain, watching your partners [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Jan. 12th – Sunday, Jan. 13th Bottom Line: Moderate to strong winds are forecast to continue impacting the Front Range this weekend. The wind event started this morning and looks to last until Sunday evening. Between 2-3” of new snow is expected. Avalanches failing within new and wind-blown snow, up to [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Jan. 6 – Sunday, Jan. 7 Bottom Line: A storm is forecast to hit the Front Range this weekend starting Friday night and tapering off Sunday evening. Between 2-6” of new snow is expected with sustained 20-60 mph winds from the southeast. Avalanches failing within new and windblown snow, up [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 30 – Sunday, Dec. 31 Bottom Line: Our biggest concerns going into this weekend are triggering either a fresh wind slab or a larger avalanche breaking on weak snow at the base or the middle of the snowpack. A storm moving into the region Saturday night will bring strong east [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 23 – Sunday, Dec. 24 Bottom Line: A holiday storm is forecast to hit the Front Range this weekend starting Friday night and tapering off Sunday afternoon. Between 8-12” of new snow is expected with sustained moderate to strong winds from the southeast. Wind slab avalanches, around 1-2′ deep, will [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 16 – Sunday, Dec. 17 There are two main avalanche problems we are most concerned with in the Chugach State Park this weekend. The first problem is wind slab avalanches. The combination of strong winds and 12” of light new snow on the surface will make natural and human triggered [Read More] | |
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Persistent Slabs
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 9th to Sunday, Dec. 10th Bottom Line: Our biggest concern going into this weekend is triggering a large avalanche breaking on weak snow at the base or the middle of the snowpack. These layers are more reactive at higher elevations (above around 2,500-3,000 feet). We are also concerned about a [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 2 to Sunday, Dec. 3 Bottom Line: There are two main avalanche problems we are most concerned with in the Chugach State Park this weekend. The first is wind slab avalanches between 6″ to 2 feet deep. These can be found predominantly on north and west aspects along with other [Read More] | |
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Welcome to the Chugach State Park conditions page. We are in the process of ramping up a weekly avalanche report for Anchorage’s Front Range. Our goal is to provide avalanche information for high use areas of the Chugach State Park in an effort to assist recreationalists in making informed and safe backcountry travel decisions. Areas [Read More] |
Below are archived forecasts for the past 5 seasons with the highest danger rating and Avalanche Problem 1 displayed in the chart. Click on a table cell to read the forecast for that day. Alternatively you can view this page for 10 seasons of data plus embedded observations from that day.
