Turnagain Pass

With another round of beautiful weather on tap for today, it will be a great day to get out and soak up some sun. Our main concern will be triggering an avalanche on steep terrain with lingering wind slabs. Due to the fact we are only a few days out from a strong wind event, and taking into account the shift in wind direction since early Monday morning, we expect it will still be possible to trigger a wind slab avalanche on steep, wind-loaded slopes. The good news is that these avalanches are becoming increasingly difficult to trigger, and terrain with sensitive wind slabs is becoming more difficult to find. But we can’t rule out these avalanches just yet, and it is important to not let your guard down. Before moving into steep terrain, be sure to look for indicators of recent wind loading. This may look like a smooth pillow of drifted snow, or maybe a rippled texture across the surface. Wind slabs are also stiffer than snow that has not been transported by the wind. Pay attention to clear indicators of unstable snow– shooting cracks, collapsing, and other avalanches– and stick to lower angle terrain if you are noticing any of these.

Cornices: Cornices are starting to get quite large throughout the area. We have seen these failing naturally on the tail of Saturday’s storm, and they are still sensitive enough that an unlucky person could cause one to fail. While they are now big enough to pose a serious hazard on their own, they could also provide a large enough load to trigger a stubborn wind slab avalanche below. If your travel plans involve traveling along ridgelines, be sure you keep plenty of distance from the edge. It will also be important to minimize time spent below cornices.

Sluffs: We received multiple reports of skiers triggering dry loose avalanches (sluffs) with increasing volume yesterday. If you are planning on moving into steep terrain, be aware of these avalanches, as they may be large enough to carry a person into dangerous terrain traps like cliffs, rocks, trees, or gullies.

Textured, wind-drifted snow on Cornbiscuit. Photo: Troy Tempel. 01.24.2021

We are continuing to see new glide activity in the area. We have recently seen glide cracks open and release in Eddies, Raggedtop, Goat Shoulder, Penguin Ridge, Seattle Ridge, Warmup bowl, Gilpatricks, and Devil’s creek. These avalanches are unpredictable, and they involve the entire snowpack– which at this point is up to 10-15’ deep. Be sure to avoid getting on or below slopes with glide cracks, and let us know if you see any new cracks or releases.