Turnagain Pass Avalanche Forecast

Yesterday Turnagain Pass saw many ‘slope testers’ (skiers and riders) pushing into steeper terrain and no red flags (recent avalanches, whumphing or shooting cracks) have been reported in nearly a week. Since the Thanksgiving rain event ended over a week ago a wet snowpack has frozen leaving a stable stout crust below 2500’. In the Alpine snow depths vary from 1-5’ thick with a generally thinner snowpack on Northern and Eastern slopes. In areas where the snowpack is thinner a slab 1-3’ thick sits on top of pockets of weaker snow near the ground. Because we lack x-ray vision it is unclear how widespread this basal faceted snow is across any given slope. This poor structure has shown some propagation potential in test pits this week, making it difficult to ignore. Triggering such a problem is an outlier, yet is possible in thinner areas near rocks. Caution is warranted if planning to push into steep complex terrain above 3000′. 

Snow depths in the higher elvations of Pastoral averaged between 3-5′ thick, but a poor structure can still be found. Click Here to view yesterday’s observation.

Calm winds this week have left 8” of low-density surface snow to settle out making skiing and riding conditions quite good. Small natural point release ‘sluffs’ were observed yesterday on steep slopes in the Alpine. This is a minor concern, not enough volume to bury a person, but has the potential to knock you off your feet. 

The snow quality right now is arguably the best it’s been in over a year so no doubt the usual zones in Turnagain will be crowded.  Keep other adjacent groups in mind as you are moving through the mountains today and maintain good backcountry etiquette.  Wear and know how to use your rescue gear, expose one person at a time on a slope, discuss potential consequences if a slope does slide and don’t ski on top of other parties.

Northern aspect of Magnum ridge, where small natural point releases were observed yesterday.