No red flags observed.
No travel above 2,100-2,400 ft elevation.
Observation: Turnagain
Location: Turnagain Pass
Alaska Avalanche School – Rec Level 2 course: General observations from the last two days in Turnagain Pass.
Locations: Sunburst, Center Ridge, Tincan and Eddies
2,100-2,400 ft highest elevations reached
Observer Comments
Weather
Jan 5th - clear sky, valley fog to 800-900 ft, slight inversion, calm to light east wind, temps in low 20's.
Jan 6th - Overcast > broken > overcast, calm wind, air temp near freezing
Snow surface
Decomposed new snow starting to round, 2-3mm surface hoar on surface up to 2200' on 1/5.
Thin but supportable rain crust ~15cm below surface
Snowpack
Several snowpits dug around the 2,000 ft elevation line over the last two days.
Buried Surface Hoar is layer of concern ~60cm below the surface.
Results throughout groups varied from ECTN and ECTX to ECTP21-25 on the surface hoar layer.
Sunburst and Center Ridge had propagation on most pits, where as Tincan and Eddies had only one ECTP with all other pits ECTN or ECTX on the surface hoar layer.
Note we did not travel above the 2,100-2,400 elevation band.