Turnagain Pass

It has been just over a week now since 3-5’+ of heavy snow fell and a significant avalanche cycle ensued. Since then, mild weather, clear skies and one windy day has produced a few small wind slabs and wet point releases – these have been in the small category. 

Normal caution issues for today:

– Old wind slabs:
     Last Thursday (3/20) winds picked up from the east and formed shallow wind slabs and crusts in many exposed locations. Keep an eye out for leeward slopes that may be harboring lingering slabs.

– Cornices:
     With significant sun exposure, cornices can become unstable and dangerous. Be suspicious of cornice collapse while traveling along or under corniced ridges.

– Wet loose point releases:
      Steep southerly slopes seeing intense sun and little wind will be suspect for triggering a damp or wet loose slide. These have been limited so far but something to watch for in steep confined terrain.

– Poor snowpack structure:
     The settled March 10-14 snow is around 2-3′ deep and very strong in most areas. This ‘slab’ sits on a variety of crusts with weaker snow in between. Although this set up, which produced widespread avalanche activity over a week ago, has gained strength and indicated a loss in reactivity, it is still present and good to keep in mind even in these ‘dormant’ phases. Take home point here is: for those taking advantage of the good weather and long days to travel well off the beaten path, there is a remote possibility of a big enough trigger (such as a large group of people or snowmachines) to collapse a slope and cause an avalanche breaking in deeper weak layers.