| Trigger | Unknown | Remote Trigger | Unknown |
| Avalanche Type | Unknown | Aspect | Unknown |
| Elevation | unknown | Slope Angle | unknown |
| Crown Depth | unknown | Width | unknown |
| Vertical Run | unknown |
Avalanche: Turnagain
Location: Spokane Creek
We toured up Spokane Creek, seeing how warm the snowpack has gotten and tracking the layer of surface hoar that turned a group around last Saturday. There was little or no refreeze last night, but the previously rock-hard surfaces following this week’s wind event have taken a longer time to melt than what we’d normally expect to see with three days of no refreezea and made for a few good laps in the sun in the middle of the day. High north snow is still cold and dry, but everything has been hit hard by the wind. We noticed a lot of new glide cracks from Girdwood to Turnagain Pass and a handfull of new glide avalanches on Seattle Ridge.
Avalanche Details
Multiple new glide avalanches on Penguin Ridge, Raggedtop, and Seattle Ridge.
Obvious signs of instability
| Recent Avalanches? | Yes |
| Collapsing (Whumphing)? | No |
| Cracking (Shooting cracks)? | No |
Observer Comments
Surfaces were getting very wet and sloppy up to ridgetops on south, east and west aspects, and below around 2500' on northerly aspects later in the day.
Weather
Warm and mostly cloudy, with some extended periods of sun. Winds died down through the day and were calm to light out of the east this afternoon.
Snow surface
We found wet snow up to 3000' on all aspects that was still firm enough for good skiing in the morning, but was starting to get pretty sloppy later in the day. The firm snow that had been blasted by winds earlier in the week actually made for some decent skiing before things started getting too hot later in the day. Not quite corn, but getting there. North-facing slopes above 3000' still have a totally dry snowpack, but surfaces are pretty firm following the wind.
Snowpack
It's looking more and more like spring now. The southerly slopes have been melting without a good freeze for three nights now. The surfaces were soft but still in good shape until around 3:300, but started getting hot and sloppy later in the day. Northerly slopes are still almost entirely dry, and we were surprised to find a layer of surface hoar about 6" down that was very reactive in our pit (ECTP11 with a very clean shear). It is not likely this layer is very widespread, but it is something we'll be assessing for before committing to big terrain.
Continued glide activity in the Skookum Valley. 04.20.2024
Glide cracks on Seattle Ridge. 04.20.2024
Fresh glide avalanche just north of the moto uptrack. 04.20.2024
The wind has really done a number around here. 04.20.2024
Older glide crack still moving on Cornbiscuit. 04.20.2024
Semi-recent cornice fall triggered an avalanche down to the rocks on the headwall. This is the third time we've seen similar activity in this basin this season. 04.20.2024
Surface hoar in the pit wall. 04.20.2024
Sample of the SH layer. 04.20.2024
Looking south towards Lynx Creek around 5:30 pm. 04.20.2024
Detailed snowpack information from our snowpit on a north aspect at 3300'. 04.20.2024