Fri, November 14, 2014 Turnagain Pass Avalanche Forecast

Fri, November 14th, 2014

Alpine
Above 2,500'

No Rating (0)

Treeline
1,000'-2,500'

No Rating (0)

Below Treeline
Below 1,000'

No Rating (0)

Alpine Above 2,500'		No Rating (0)
Treeline 1,000'-2,500'		No Rating (0)
Below Treeline Below 1,000'		No Rating (0)

Danger Scale:

No Rating (0)

Low (1)

Moderate (2)

Considerable (3)

High (4)

Extreme (5)

Avalanche Problem 1

Glide Avalanches

Glide Avalanches

Glide Avalanches are the release of the entire snow cover as a result of gliding over the ground. Glide avalanches can be composed of wet, moist, or almost entirely dry snow. They typically occur in very specific paths, where the slope is steep enough and the ground surface is relatively smooth. They are often proceeded by full depth cracks (glide cracks), though the time between the appearance of a crack and an avalanche can vary between seconds and months. Glide avalanches are unlikely to be triggered by a person, are nearly impossible to forecast, and thus pose a hazard that is extremely difficult to manage.

More info at Avalanche.org

For anyone venturing to Turnagain Pass, it is clear there is not much snow below treeline and a lot of old avalanche activity above treeline. Although things have quieted down avalanche-wise, glide avalanches remain something to keep on your radar. These are simply unpredictable and destructive avalanches. The good thing is most of the time glides are preceded by a slowly opening crack and therefore easy to identify and avoid. Hence, be aware of glide cracks and avoid being under them.

Below is a photo of several glide cracks on the west nose of Eddies (popular ski/snowboard slope). This is just an example of how much glide activity is present right now. This photo is from 5 days ago and some have released but many are still in wait.

Matt Murphy photo from Nov 9th.

Avalanche Problem 2

Wet Loose

Wet Loose

Wet Loose avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

More info at Avalanche.org

With persistent warm temperatures, including a spike on Thursday (chart below), the snowpack could be fairly wet near treeline. The clear skies are likely freezing the surface to some degree but there also could be areas where the snow remains soft. Triggering a wet loose slide into a terrain trap comes to mind as something to be aware of in soft saturated snow.

Check out the warm ridgetop temperatures at the Sunburst weather station (3812′) below. And, two days ago on Nov 11th the Girdwood Yard station in Old Girdwood recorded a record high temperature for November: 50F!

Weather

Fri, November 14th, 2014

After a 10-day long bout of warm, wet and windy weather, the wet and windy parts have moved west but the warm remains. For the next week or so a complex set of low pressure systems will spin to our south and continue to pump warm air our way. Sunday and mid-week there may be some moisture associated with the southerly flow, but all in all, winter remains on the horizon.

Observations

Recent Observations for Turnagain Pass

Date	Region	Location	Observer
05/21/22	Turnagain	Avalanche: Magnum, Lipps and Tincan	CNFAIC Staff
05/17/22	Turnagain	Avalanche: Sunburst	CNFAIC Staff
05/17/22	Turnagain	Observation: Tincan Ridge	Joe Kurtak
05/11/22	Turnagain	Avalanche: Cornbiscuit and Magnum west faces	CNFAIC Staff Forecaster
05/07/22	Turnagain	Observation: Granddaddy	Kit Barton
04/29/22	Turnagain	Observation: Sunburst wx station	AS/ MM/ AM/ NH
04/28/22	Turnagain	Observation: More Turnagain Pass/Summit Lake wet slab activity	Alex Marienthal
04/27/22	Turnagain	Observation: Magnum	Sykes / Buttrick Forecaster
04/27/22	Turnagain	Observation: Girdwood/Summit/Turnagain Road obs	A S
04/24/22	Turnagain	Avalanche: Seattle Ridge – large glide avalanche on Repeat Offender path	CNFAIC Staff Forecaster

Riding Areas

Updated Fri, May 13th, 2022

Status of riding areas across the Chugach NF is managed by the Glacier and Seward Ranger Districts, not avalanche center staff. Riding area information is posted as a public service to our users and updated based on snow depth and snow density to prevent resource damage at trailhead locations. Riding area questions contact: mailroom_r10_chugach@fs.fed.us

Area	Status	Weather & Riding Conditions
Glacier District
Johnson Pass	Closed	Closed as of May 1 per Forest Plan.
Placer River	Closed	Closed as of April 25th due to insufficient snow coverage.
Skookum Drainage	Closed	Closed as of April 1st per Forest Plan.
Turnagain Pass	Open	Open. Extended opening through May 31.
Twentymile	Closed	Closed as of April 6th due to insufficient snow coverage.
Seward District
Carter Lake	Closed	Closed as of May 1 per Forest Plan.
Lost Lake Trail	Closed	Closed as of May 1 per Forest Plan.
Primrose Trail	Closed	Closed as of May 1 per Forest Plan.
Resurrection Pass Trail	Closed	Closed as of May 1 per Forest Plan.
Snug Harbor	Closed	Closed as of May 1 per Forest Plan.
South Fork Snow River Corridor	Closed	Closed as of May 1 per Forest Plan.
Summit Lake	Closed	Closed as of May 1 per Forest Plan.