Turnagain Pass Avalanche Forecast
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WELCOME TO THE 2015/16 WINTER SEASON!!
The Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center is gearing up for the much-anticipated €˜El Nino’ season of 2015/16; This has started off with a Halloween treat of around 4″ of snow at Turnagain Pass. We will be issuing intermittent updates during the next few weeks on this page as well as posting on our Facebook and Instagram pages (Facebook link in the upper right corner and Instagram: @chugachavy). Full advisories with danger ratings will begin sometime around Thanksgiving or as snow and avalanche conditions warrant.
A call for observations!
Crowdsourcing is a major part of our information gathering process. We rely heavily on you, the public, to help us keep tabs on snow and avalanche conditions. Anyone getting out this weekend? Please send us some photos, videos and/or a sentence or two on what you are seeing in the mountains (We LOVE photos and videos by the way!). The best way to do this is on our €˜submit an observation’ link (under €˜observations’). You can also use your phone if you have a web browser. Thank you in advance!!
Upcoming events:
Friday, Nov 6th: Southcentral Alaska Avalanche Workshop – Alaska’s regional professional workshop
Thursday, Nov 12th: Friends of the CNFAIC Fall FUNdraiser – Don’t miss this chance to support your
avalanche center and see Greg Hill discussing “Mountain Lessons”
Thursday, Nov 19th: Ski Film Night – Fade to Winter – Get your stoke on while supporting avalanche education and forecasting
More events, including our free awareness courses and Fireside Chats are listed on our calendar page.
Early season hazards:
You know the drill: Rocks, alders, crevasses and, yes, avalanches. It doesn’t take much snow to slide €“ if it’s not enough to bury a person, it can still rake someone over the ground (the cheese-grater effect, unpleasant for obvious reasons).
What to clue into? 1) Recent avalanches in the past 1 or 2 days? And 2) rapid changes in weather? This includes, recent or current snowfall, wind, rain on snow and warm temperatures after a storm. These are the biggies and what not to forget from our avalanche awareness courses. It’s time to tune our brains into the avalanche scene. Check out this graphic from Canada below:
Motorized use:
A reminder that motorized use on the Chugach National Forest remains closed until there is sufficient snow cover. You can monitor changes in open/closed status below on the €˜conditions report’. Status is updated intermittently as conditions change.
Date | Region | Location | Observer |
---|---|---|---|
01/31/23 | Turnagain | Observation: Johnson Pass area | Megan Guinn / W Wagner Forecaster |
01/29/23 | Turnagain | Observation: Tincan Backdoor | AAS-Level 1 1/27-1/30 |
01/28/23 | Turnagain | Observation: Sunburst | Brooke Edwards |
01/28/23 | Turnagain | Avalanche: Seattle Ridge | W Wagner |
01/28/23 | Turnagain | Observation: Tincan Common | Tony Naciuk |
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 |
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 |
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This is a general backcountry avalanche advisory issued for Turnagain Arm with Turnagain Pass as the core advisory area. This advisory does not apply to highways, railroads or operating ski areas.