No obvious signs observed. We bought binoculars and scanned the nearby peaks for snow pack information. Didn’t see any obvious signs of recent avalanche activity. Rocks up high on Ptarmigan peak looked glazed over with ice but didn’t see this at lower elevations. Looked like a lot of snow had melted off (see photos).
Observation: Chugach State Park
Location: Glen Alps trailhead and Blueberry Knoll area
Beacon and rescue training day with AGC. Left cars around 9:30 am, spent the day on the northwest side of Blueberry Knoll just above the Powerline Pass trail. Returned to the parking lot at 3:30 pm.
Observer Comments
Weather
Warm! Was 37 degrees F at the cars in the morning. Mostly calm all day with good visibility.
Snow surface
Rain crust, 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, at the surface over much of the area (see photo). A lot of variability in ski and boot penetration mostly due to past wind effect. Around trees, ski penetration was 2-3 inches and much deeper for boot penetration. Out in the open, surfaces were very hard and easy to walk on.
Snowpack
Shallow snowpack in the area where we were for the day. In open areas away from trees, snow depth was 30 to 50 cm (based on probe poles).
Blueberry Knoll area looking west toward O’Malley Peak
Rain crust from snow surface at Blueberry Knoll area.