Observations – Monday, November 25, 2013 | Anchorage Avalanche Center – Alaska Backcountry Ski Guide & Avalanche Education Provider for the Chugach Mountain Institute

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday and the AAC being a 100% volunteer effort there won’t be a more thorough update until the first week of December. Give thanks, imagine Front Range cold smoke in your near future, and play safe out there considering the early season snowpack.

Northerly winds have ramped up since our most recent deposit of fresh snow, which could have been up to a foot in some alpine areas. That potential foot of loose, easily transportable snow has been widely re-distributed by strong northerly winds. Expect wind slabs on lee slopes and cross-loaded terrain. The potential for other, more consequential instabilities deeper within the snowpack are also still present and likely more susceptible than as evidenced in recent posts due to new snow and strong winds. (Sat. 11/30)

South Fork Eagle River – North Bowl

Signs of instability:

Localized whoomphing/collapsing of snowpack
Small recent avalanche in the Hunter Pass terrain trap
Snowpit test results indicating numerous instabilities within the snowpack

Weather:

Mostly cloudy with light northerly winds and temps in the mid to upper twenties.

Surface Conditions:

In general, the South Fork snowpack is variable beyond any sort of concise description. The top 500-600′ of North Bowl is good, deteriorating to variable below.

Snowpack discussion:

The first photo, two videos, and snowpit graph tell the story of what’s going on in the snowpack on the approach to North Bowl, above Hunter Pass where the slope angle steepens and the snowpack becomes thicker and more consistent (the crux of the approach – if there is one).

The third video and the second snowpit graph tell the story of what’s going on in the snowpack just below the North Bowl summit ridge (right around where you’d drop in to ski). Edit to video narration: no ECT’s were conducted, just CT’s.