| Recent Avalanches? | Yes |
| Collapsing (Whumphing)? | No |
| Cracking (Shooting cracks)? | No |
Observation: Chugach State Park
Location: In the mountains near the Eagle River Nature Center
Today we toured near the Eagle River Nature Center to about 5,500 feet.
Obvious signs of instability
Observer Comments
We observed natural dry loose avalanches up to D1 starting from the rocks and entraining the top 4 inches of loose dry snow. While skiing on north aspects we found variable snow, some as small persistent slabs, up to 15 feet across and 8 inches deep, that we could release on test slopes.
Weather
Increasing clouds and more wind as the day progressed. Temps in the teens and 20's. Long John is still my good buddy.
Snow surface
Variable. Frozen solid on the south aspects. Powder, windslab, and low-density wind deposits on the north aspects. Lots of breakable crust in between. It was snow, and we had skis on our feet, so by definition, it was good skiing.
Snowpack
Variable. The north aspects at elevations above 4,500 feet are holding patchy, near-surface, persistent weak layers. We stayed on low consequence terrain in case one of these caught us off guard. Lots of uncertainty on these high north aspects. It's still wintery up there.
Photo showing the small persistent slabs we were able break free on low consequence terrain. Also some small dry loose avalanches starting from the rocks.