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
01/28/23	Turnagain	Observation: Sunburst	Brooke Edwards
01/28/23	Turnagain	Avalanche: Seattle Ridge	W Wagner
01/27/23	Turnagain	Observation: Sunburst	John Sykes
01/27/23	Turnagain	Avalanche: Lynx Creek	Megan Guinn / W Wagner
01/25/23	Turnagain	Observation: Cornbiscuit	John Sykes Forecaster
01/22/23	Turnagain	Avalanche: Tincan	Schauer/ Guinn
01/21/23	Turnagain	Avalanche: Seattle Ridge	Elias Holt
01/21/23	Turnagain	Avalanche: Lynx drainage – avalanche	CNFAIC Staff
01/21/23	Turnagain	Avalanche/People Involved: Warm up bowl (-1 bowl) avalanche	Anonymous
01/21/23	Turnagain	Avalanche: Sunburst Ridge	Megan Guinn / W Wagner

Riding Areas

Updated Fri, January 06th, 2023

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	Open	Opened Dec 13th.
Placer River	Closed	Closed Jan 5th due to lack of snow (holiday storms rained away the snow at sea level).
Skookum Drainage	Closed	Closed Jan 5th due to lack of snow (holiday storms rained away the snow at sea level).
Turnagain Pass	Open	Opened Dec 13th.
Twentymile	Closed	Closed Jan 5th due to lack of snow (holiday storms rained away the snow at sea level).
Seward District
Carter Lake	Open	Opened Dec 13th.
Lost Lake Trail	Open	Opened Dec 13th.
Primrose Trail	Open	Opened Dec 13th.
Resurrection Pass Trail	Closed	Closed to motorized use for the 2022/23 winter season per Forest Plan. Open next season.
Snug Harbor	Open	Opened Dec 13th.
South Fork Snow River Corridor	Open	Opened Dec 13th.
Summit Lake	Open	Opened Dec 13th.