Turnagain Pass Archives

Date	Problem #1	Problem #2	The Bottom Line
Sat, March 4th, 2017	Wind Slabs		The avalanche danger is MODERATE on slopes above 2,000′ that have seen wind loading by sustained Northwest winds. Although these wind slabs are expected to be very stiff and stubborn to trigger, the possibility remains that slabs could release in steep rocky terrain. In areas that have seen less wind, such as many slopes in [Read More]
Fri, March 3rd, 2017	Wind Slabs	Persistent Slabs	Strong winds expected in parts of the forecast zone will keep the avalanche danger at CONSIDERABLE today at the higher elevations. Moderate winds impacting the middle elevations will keep the danger at MODERATE. Wind slab avalanches will be the primary concern and there is the possibility these could release naturally at the upper elevations where [Read More]
Thu, March 2nd, 2017	Wind Slabs	Persistent Slabs	The avalanche danger could rise to CONSIDERABLE in the Alpine (above 2,500′) where triggering a fresh wind slab will be likely should sustained winds reach 30mph today. There also remains a possibility of triggering a more stubborn, and more dangerous avalanche 2-3′ deep on all aspects above 2000′. Today’s winds are also expected to be [Read More]
Wed, March 1st, 2017	Wind Slabs	Persistent Slabs	The avalanche danger is MODERATE above 1,000′ where it will again be possible to trigger shallow, fresh wind slabs on all aspects today. We are also tracking several weak layers deeper in the snowpack; keeping persistent slab avalanches as the secondary concern. Buried surface hoar (2-3′ deep) and weak facets near the ground are [Read More]
Tue, February 28th, 2017	Wind Slabs	Persistent Slabs	There is a MODERATE avalanche danger on all aspects above 1,000′ where triggering a shallow fresh wind slab avalanche is possible. Recent strong winds have formed fresh wind slabs on a variety of aspects both near ridgelines and possibly further down slopes. Watch for these on leeward features where winds have drifted snow. There also [Read More]
Mon, February 27th, 2017	Wind Slabs	Persistent Slabs	The avalanche danger is MODERATE above 2,000′ in the Alpine where triggering a fresh wind slab is possible today. There also remains a possibility of triggering a more stubborn, and more dangerous avalanche 2-3′ deep on all aspects. If winds increase beyond the forecasted 10-25mph range today, avalanche danger may increase to CONSIDERABLE in the [Read More]
Sun, February 26th, 2017	Persistent Slabs	Wind Slabs	The avalanche danger is MODERATE above 2,000′ in the Alpine where triggering a 2-3′ slab avalanche in steep terrain is still possible on all aspects. In addition, there are a handful of other avalanche concerns including shallow wind slabs, cornice falls, sluffs and glide avalanches. Below 2,000′ there is a LOW danger where triggering [Read More]
Sat, February 25th, 2017	Persistent Slabs	Wind Slabs	The avalanche danger is MODERATE above 2,000′ in the Alpine where triggering a 2-3′ slab avalanche on slopes steeper than 35 degrees is still a possibility on all aspects. In addition, there are a handful of other avalanche concerns including shallow wind slabs, cornice falls, sluffs and glide avalanches. Below 2,000′ there is a [Read More]
Fri, February 24th, 2017	Persistent Slabs	Wind Slabs	The avalanche danger is MODERATE above 1,500′ on all aspects where triggering a 2-3′ slab avalanche is possible on slopes steeper than 35 degrees. In addition, there are a handful of other avalanche concerns including fresh shallow wind slabs later today with an uptick in winds, cornice falls and sluffs. Also, there is a glide [Read More]
Thu, February 23rd, 2017	Wind Slabs	Persistent Slabs	There is a MODERATE avalanche danger on all aspects above 1,500′ where triggering a large propagating slab avalanche 2-3′ thick is possible and could have high consequences. In addition there are a handful of other avalanche concerns to be aware of including fresh shallow wind slabs, cornice fall and loose snow point releases. Also keep [Read More]
Wed, February 22nd, 2017	Wind Slabs	Persistent Slabs	There is a MODERATE avalanche danger on all aspects above 1,500′ where triggering a slab avalanche 2-3′ thick is possible on slopes steeper than 35 degrees and could have high consequences. In addition there are a handful of other avalanche concerns to be aware of including fresh wind slabs, cornice fall and loose snow point [Read More]
Tue, February 21st, 2017	Persistent Slabs	Wind Slabs	There is a MODERATE avalanche danger on all aspects above 1,500′ where triggering a slab avalanche 2-3′ thick is possible on slopes steeper than 35 degrees and could have high consiquences. In addition there are a handful of other avalanche concerns to be aware of including fresh shallow wind slabs, cornice fall and loose snow [Read More]
Mon, February 20th, 2017	Persistent Slabs	Cornice	There is a MODERATE avalanche danger on all aspects above 1,500′ for triggering a slab avalanche 2-3′ thick. The new snow from last week is still trying to bond with the old snow surface and triggering a large, and potentially very dangerous, slab is possible. Other avalanche concerns are cornice falls and glide avalanches; there [Read More]
Sun, February 19th, 2017	Persistent Slabs	Cornice	The avalanche danger is rated CONSIDERABLE due to a thin layer of weak snow 2-4+ feet below the surface. Triggering a slab avalanche breaking in this layer and taking out the top few feet of snow will be likely on slopes steeper than 35 degrees at elevations above 1000′. These slab avalanches may be triggered [Read More]
Sat, February 18th, 2017	Persistent Slabs	Cornice	The avalanche danger is rated CONSIDERABLE due to a thin layer of weak snow 2-3′ below the surface. Triggering a slab avalanche breaking in this layer and taking out the top few feet of snow will be likely on slopes steeper than 35 degrees at elevations above 1,000′. These slab avalanches can be triggered remotely [Read More]
Fri, February 17th, 2017	Persistent Slabs	Wind Slabs	The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE on all slopes steeper than 35 degrees above 1,000′ in elevation. Slab avalanches anywhere between 1′ and 3+’ thick are likely to be triggered in the steeper terrain. These could be shallow fresh wind slabs or thicker, and more dangerous, slabs that break in buried weak layers. These larger slabs [Read More]
Thu, February 16th, 2017	Storm Slabs	Cornice	The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE above 1000′ around Turnagain Pass, Placer Valley and Girdwood due to a variety of concerns. Natural avalanches are possible and human triggered slab avalanches 3+’ thick are likely on slopes steeper than 35 degrees. Fresh wind slabs and loose snow avalanches will also be easy to tigger and should the [Read More]
Wed, February 15th, 2017	Storm Slabs	Wind Slabs	The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE for all elevations around Turnagain Pass, Placer Valley and Girdwood due to dangerous avalanche conditions. Natural avalanches are possible and human triggered avalanches are likely. Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding and conservative decision-making are essential today. Summit Lake: Expect the avalanche danger to remain elevated. Click HERE for the weakly [Read More]
Tue, February 14th, 2017	Storm Slabs	Deep Persistent Slabs	Above freezing temperatures, heavy snowfall, rain and strong winds are keeping the avalanche danger at HIGH for all elevations around Turnagain Pass, Placer Valley and Girdwood. An Avalanche Warning has been issued for Turnagain Pass, the Kenai Mountains and Western Chugach Mountains and will remain in effect through 6am tomorrow, Feb.15. Travel is not [Read More]
Mon, February 13th, 2017	Storm Slabs	Deep Persistent Slabs	Heavy snowfall, rain and strong winds are creating a HIGH avalanche danger at all elevations in the Turnagain Pass area, this includes Portage, Placer and Girdwood Valley. Travel is not recommended in avalanche terrain where natural avalanches are likely occurring due to rapid loading. [Read More]
Sun, February 12th, 2017	Wind Slabs	Deep Persistent Slabs	The avalanche danger is MODERATE for a variety of avalanche problems. First, fresh wind slabs formed by moderate to strong winds today will be possible to trigger on leeward slopes. These could be quite touchy and around 1 foot thick. They could create a large amount of debris if triggerd on larger sustained slopes. Triggering [Read More]
Sat, February 11th, 2017	Wind Slabs	Deep Persistent Slabs	There is a MODERATE avalanche danger in the Turnagain Pass area. Triggering a fresh wind slab in leeward terrain is possible. In protected areas triggering a shallow storm slab or loose snow avalanche is also a concern. In addition, keep in mind that due to poor snowpack structure there is still a chance of triggering [Read More]
Fri, February 10th, 2017	Storm Slabs	Deep Persistent Slabs	The avalanche danger is expected to rise to CONSIDERABLE in the Alpine by this afternoon as new snow along with wind is forecast. Wind slab avalanches up to foot or more should be easy to trigger on slopes that receive over 6-8 inches of new snow and are being loaded by winds. There is a [Read More]
Thu, February 9th, 2017	Deep Persistent Slabs	Wind Slabs	The avalanche danger above 1500′ in Turnagain Pass remains MODERATE due to a poor snowpack structure where triggering a large slab avalanche (2′-5′ thick) that breaks near the ground is possible. This is a low probability, but high consequence situation and it is critical that safe travel protocols are executed and avalanche rescue gear is [Read More]
Wed, February 8th, 2017	Deep Persistent Slabs		There is a generally LOW avalanche danger in the Turnagain Pass region where triggering an avalanche in unlikely. However, there are areas above 1,500′ that have a poor snowpack structure and there remains the possibility of triggering a large slab avalanche (2-5′ thick) that breaks near the ground; this situation is keeping the danger MODERATE. [Read More]