Turnagain Pass

Last weekend we got a rash of reports of skier triggered avalanches.  There was a good size avalanche in Surprise Bowl in Girdwood with people partially buried, a remotely triggered slab on Silvertip, and small slabs kicked loose in Turnagain Pass.  Through the work week we haven’t had any more reports of similar avalanche activity, but we expect some areas may still behave this way.

With fantastic spring weather and strong temperature swings between day and night the snow at the surface is getting faceted and weaker.  This process breaks up the slab character and makes it more difficult for stiffer snow to connect together in larger plates.  We think the slabs that people found a week ago will be more difficult to find this weekend because of that faceting or degrading of the stiffer pockets.  

Skiers and snowmachiners are putting tracks all over the place right now, including steep terrain.  It’s a good time to explore some of the farther reaches of Alaska, but keep in mind that anomalies may be found.

We saw some really large overhanging cornices yesterday, including one that had recently fallen.  This concern increases late in the day as temperatures rise and the cornice structure loses strength.  Avoid spending time below overhanging cornices and watch your exposure at the ridgetops.  

The wet avalanche meltdown still has not begun.  Direct south facing slopes, especially at lower elevations should be suspect late in the day.  As the daytime temperatures heat up the snow there is a corresponding loss of strength and wet avalanches may be initiated.  Temperatures last night did not get as low as they have been, so there may be a slight increase in activity this afternoon.