Turnagain Pass Avalanche Forecast

Good Morning, this is Matt Murphy with the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center on Thursday April 15, 2010 at 7am. We are no longer issuing regular avalanche advisories for the rest of the 2009-2010 season, but that does not mean that the avalanche season is done.

First of all, we want to thank you for staying safe in avalanche terrain and helping make this avalanche center an important resource for South Central Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula. Your observations help steer this operation in the right direction. Remember that your information could save a life; so, we want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to everybody that submitted observations this year. We’d also like to thank the Friends of the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center and our major funding partners. You are a great group of people with a passion of helping keep people safe in the backcountry, THANK YOU for all your support. Additionally, we want to thank:

-Alyeska Ski Patrol

-Alaska DOT

-Alaska Railroad

-Alaska Avalanche School

-Alaska Pacific University

-Chugach Powder Guides

-and many CNFAIC Staffs

for sharing important avalanche information for us to pass on to the backcountry community.

There are still plenty of weak layers including: pockets of buried surface hoar, sun crusts, a deep rain crust that formed January 7, and facets buried deep in the snowpack. We will see avalanches on these weak layers, especially:

-during the big spring thaw

-during storms

-within 24 hours of storms

-during times of direct sunlight

-rapidly warming temps

-during rain on snow events

Every year, there is a time when the snowpack completely falls apart due to the spring thaw. This could happen any time in the next couple weeks. Many times, this extremely dangerous avalanche cycle starts after 2-3 days of sustained above freezing temps at the ridgetop weather stations during periods of direct sun or intense rain. When that spring thaw happens, we all need to stay away from the mountains till this cycle is done. We will see large destructive avalanches that could fail on deep weak layers during that time.

Thanks for checking avalanche advisories this season. Stay tuned for periodic updates to the photo gallery and snow history. Have a great spring and summer.