Avalanche: Chugach State Park

Location: United States

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

4-5′ wind slab released just above Flattop trail at the gap between Blueberry hill and Flattop Mountain. This is a repeater path (slid last year in January and was also the site of a fatality in 2006).

See an observation from last January here.

See accident report from 2006 here.

Avalanche Details
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Trigger NaturalRemote Trigger0
Avalanche Type0Aspect West
Elevation 2600ftSlope Angle 39deg
Crown Depth4ftWidth 100ft
Vertical Run 60ft  
Avalanche Details

Wind slab (hard slab) natural avalanche likely triggered late Saturday night or early Sunday morning (4/19) in a very wind affected area. Northeast winds funnel through this terrain feature loading 2 obvious wind pockets directly above the popular Flattop hiking trail. Often times both of these pockets will release simultaneously. This avalanche released the northern-most pocket only, leaving the southern pocket in-tact as of 1330 this afternoon.

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)?No
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?No
Observer Comments

Rapid loading due to sustained 40mph winds and gusts to 60mph. This path was actively reloading this afternoon.

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

Strong ENE winds gusting into the 60's mph. Temperature has been in the high 30's to low 40's over the past 24hrs with a couple inches of new snow.

Snow surface

Dense, wind packed powder in wind loaded areas. Surface stripped to bare dirt and rock in windward areas.

Photos & Video
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