Outdoors/Adventure

Wind, rain boost Turnagain Pass avalanche danger

Friday winds and Saturday precipitation could cause dangerous avalanche conditions at Turnagain Pass this weekend.

Avalanche risk was "considerable" above 2,000 feet, the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center wrote in an updated forecast Friday, adding that a slab of 1- to 3-feet-thick snow was sitting on a weak layer of old snow.

"This weak layer of snow has been reactive over the last few days and is likely to be triggered on terrain steeper than 35 degrees," the center wrote.

Mid-mountain conditions were "moderate" Friday. But winds as high as 40 mph were forecast to hit ridge tops Friday, potentially worsening avalanche danger.

Meanwhile, National Weather Service meteorologists are calling for rain to intensify in the area Saturday, which avalanche center forecasters note will also increase the risk of an avalanche.

"The storm is really kicking up tonight," Wendy Wagner, director of the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center, said Friday afternoon. She described the expected storm as "unorganized," which means avalanche forecasters aren't certain how the weather will affect conditions, but because of the already weak snowpack, Wagner said, conditions will be hazardous.

According to Wagner, areas at Turnagain Pass that have already experienced avalanche activity have the potential to see more, but it will all depend on the amount of precipitation and its intensity.

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The first storm in nearly three weeks rolled into Turnagain Pass on Monday, which led to a series of four human-triggered avalanches Tuesday. "Essentially, the new snow is having a really hard time sticking," Wagner said.

Wagner said any additional load added to the snowpack will likely trigger avalanches with or without humans.

Three of Tuesday's avalanches were triggered by an intern for the Chugach center who was building a snow cave. Wagner said when the intern took off his skis and was able to reach deeper into the snowpack with his boot, he triggered three remote avalanches, which wasn't entirely unexpected.

Wagner said the remote avalanches were triggered in an area the center knows people aren't likely to be and no one was there at the time.

The fourth avalanche was triggered by a snowboarder, who was able to get out of it. Wagner said it was a small avalanche.

Megan Edge

Megan Edge is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News.

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