Observation: Chugach State Park

Location: Ship creek

Date:

December 23, 2023 3:00pm

Observer:

Jessie Janowski

Route & General Observations

Skinned into ship creek to check how the wind had treated the current snow pack. I found that the wind had funneled from the south through the valley creating small patches of wind slab on all ridges.

Red Flags

Red flags are simple visual clues that are a sign of potential avalanche danger. Please record any sign of red flags below.

Obvious signs of instability

Recent Avalanches?	Yes
Collapsing (Whumphing)?	Yes
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?	Yes

Observer Comments

All whumphing was on convexities and in small patches under 20 yards.
Shooting cracks within the wind slab, which in some places had multiple layers.

Weather & Snow Characteristics

Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.

Weather

Wind of 10, gusts to 20. Patchy clouds and warm, 27.

Photos & Video

Please upload photos below. Maximum of 5 megabytes per image. Click here for help on resizing images. If you are having trouble uploading please email images separately to staff.

Mid storm avalanches, from the RIDGETOP. Could have been cornice vs wind slab.

Mid storm avalanche, bed surface was soft, as were the blocks of debris.

Location

Click to Explore Location.