Observation: Turnagain

A quick afternoon hike up Sunburst to see just how wet the snow is.

Weather:
Overcast, calm and warm. Temps around 40F at the parking lot. Light rain in
Girdwood and Portage but had stopped raining on the Pass by the afternoon.

The mountains continue to lose the snow cover below 3,000′. What is occurring in
the alpine, where it is cold enough for snow, is likely just the opposite.

Snow line is between 1500-1800′.

Avalanche activity:
Glide avalanches – There are so many old, and possibly some new, glide
avalanches that it is tough to tell exactly how much activity has occurred in
the past 24 hours. There are countless glide cracks remaining however.

Wet avalanches – One large wet sluff running 50% (or looked to be a wet sluff
with binos) in Todd’s Bowl, far skiers left. No photo, very low visibility.

The snowpack is very wet, punchy and unconsolidated at 2,500′ and below. From
the looks of the ridgetop temperatures and the character of the wet sluffs at
higher elevations, I’m guessing moist to wet snow exists to at least 3,500′.