Turnagain Pass Avalanche Forecast
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*Early season folks: Please send us your snow/avalanche reports so we can post them on our observation page. Thank you to all those who have submitted already! Simply click ‘submit observation’ under the Observation tab above. This is a huge benefit for the community and our forecasters. Make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram for our most up to date information.
Tuesday Nov. 13th update:
The dreaded Pineapple Express rolled through Southcentral Alaska Sunday and Monday (Nov 11/12)… This not only brought heavy rain to 3, 4 and even 5,000 feet, but 10 inches of it to the Portage Valley area (Bear Valley RWIS)! If it was only in the frozen form… That said, the 1-2 feet of snow that existed around treeline has been degraded to patches of mush and bare ground. Many wet avalanches occurred during the storm in the higher elevations, taking what snow there was available down the mountainsides.
For this week, mild temperatures and clearer skies are forecast through Thursday with another shot of rain/snow on Friday night into the weekend. It’s still too early to say, but models are showing this weekend’s system bringing a rain/snow mix for road levels and possibly 6 inches to treeline and above. Check back for Saturday morning’s update €“ in the meantime think cold thoughts!
Wet point release avalanches in the Carter Lake area on the Kenai (photo taken Nov 12: Seth Wells). Note the thiness of the snowpack and the slides taking all the snow in the path with them.
Webcam views from Tues, Nov 13th. Left – looking North through Jr’s Bowl/2nd Bowl toward Girdwood from Seattle Ridge weather station. Right – Tincan from the Turnagain Pass RWIS station.
Photos from Nov 13th from the upper reaches of Girdwood valley, snow has been left at low-tide after yesterday’s rain (Will Brennen).
If you head out into the mountains to higher elevations harboring colder snow, be on the look out for Red Flag warnings:
Mark your calendars: EVENTS ARE APPROACHING QUICKLY!
Thursday, Nov 15th: Beartooth CNFAIC Fall Fundraiser: Hope for Snow!
8 – 11pm, Beartooth Theater Pub & Grill. A slightly different format this year with short stories and live music. SNOW STORIES by Wendy Wagner, Roman Dial and Blaine Smith. Live Music by HOPE SOCIAL CLUB!
Tickets are $20 and are available at the Beartooth website and box office.
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Wednesday, Nov 21st: Snowmachine throwback film fundraiser – “2 Stroke Cold Smoke”!
7 – 10pm, 49th State Brewing Co Anchorage. Kick off the riding season, connect with CNFAIC and learn about snowmachine specific avalanche awareness/course opportunities with a ‘throwback film’ night!!
$20 tickets are available HERE and at Alaska Mining and Diving Supplies, A2D Motorsports and Anchorage Yamaha Polaris
We are focusing each early season update on one of the Know Before You Go ‘GETS’. Today’s GET is GET OUT OF HARMS WAY (check out the Know Before You Go video link in case you haven’t seen it).
Part of GETTING OUT OF HARMS WAY is knowing the terrain we are in, how we are approaching that terrain, where people in our group are and ways to minimize bad outcomes in the event an avalanche occurs. Read the points below. These are ways we stack the odds in our favor!
Date | Region | Location | Observer |
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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 |
01/21/23 | Turnagain | Avalanche: Lynx drainage – avalanche | CNFAIC Staff |
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 |
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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.