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A place to post avy conditions, snow conditions, beta, and stoke from the winter here in AK.
Good and stable snow up high at Turnagain lately. Buried raincrust up to about 3,000 feet. Good bonding to the raincrust, and honestly its a good thing down low cause it covers up the rocks so well. Found a small, windloaded, and unstable pocket of storm snow at about 4,000 feet today. Didn't observe any other signs of instability.
Thanks Roan, I'll try to do a better job of posting beta here.
Some of the best stability I've seen in my life today. Stopped whaling on the EC test when my fist got sore. Snowpack has some great components and some challenging ones with the incoming precip. Snowpack up high is rightside up from the ground to the surface. Significant surface hoar development down low, goes away with elevation. Hopefully the rain down low tomorrow will blast that away. Major wind transport off some of the higher peaks today, a bit of soft slab development near the Taylor Pass gap. Snow down low isn't as painfully firm as I expected, more like a really hard day inbounds. Tour got cut short by a partner with another broken Plum binding :(
Nice to get out and see what the mountains look like after the most recent rain/snow event. The alpine is plastered, hoping the approaches start to fill in before long.
Tincan was fun this weekend. Common bowl got hammered, didn't slide, although a strange crack did open up right in the middle of the bowl on the convexity. Lots of fun pillows in the trees:
Mike.RecordsThanks Roan, I'll try to do a better job of posting beta here.
Some of the best stability I've seen in my life today. Stopped whaling on the EC test when my fist got sore. Snowpack has some great components and some challenging ones with the incoming precip. Snowpack up high is rightside up from the ground to the surface. Significant surface hoar development down low, goes away with elevation. Hopefully the rain down low tomorrow will blast that away. Major wind transport off some of the higher peaks today, a bit of soft slab development near the Taylor Pass gap. Snow down low isn't as painfully firm as I expected, more like a really hard day inbounds. Tour got cut short by a partner with another broken Plum binding :(
Skied Tincan Proper and Kickstep today; felt so good to get redemption on Kickstep! Obviously thin down low. Variably up high. Proper was absolutely spectacular all the way to the choke at the bottom. Kickstep was good, then bad, then good. Discontinuous crust under the new snow that was present on Kickstep, but not Proper, despite a similar aspect. Some of Kickstep sloughed out before we skied it leaving that weird, and non-adhesive crust. The crust didn't ski too bad, but the snow sure didn't like to stick to it. Calm day once we got out of the Turnagain Pass gap. We saw a couple slides that released on gulley walls on Seattle Ridge, I'm assuming they were associated with gap winds. I'll try to get a TR up in the next few days.
Mike.RecordsSkied Tincan Proper and Kickstep today; felt so good to get redemption on Kickstep! Obviously thin down low. Variably up high. Proper was absolutely spectacular all the way to the choke at the bottom. Kickstep was good, then bad, then good. Discontinuous crust under the new snow that was present on Kickstep, but not Proper, despite a similar aspect. Some of Kickstep sloughed out before we skied it leaving that weird, and non-adhesive crust. The crust didn't ski too bad, but the snow sure didn't like to stick to it. Calm day once we got out of the Turnagain Pass gap. We saw a couple slides that released on gulley walls on Seattle Ridge, I'm assuming they were associated with gap winds. I'll try to get a TR up in the next few days.
Mike.RecordsSkied Tincan Proper and Kickstep today; felt so good to get redemption on Kickstep! Obviously thin down low. Variably up high. Proper was absolutely spectacular all the way to the choke at the bottom. Kickstep was good, then bad, then good. Discontinuous crust under the new snow that was present on Kickstep, but not Proper, despite a similar aspect. Some of Kickstep sloughed out before we skied it leaving that weird, and non-adhesive crust. The crust didn't ski too bad, but the snow sure didn't like to stick to it. Calm day once we got out of the Turnagain Pass gap. We saw a couple slides that released on gulley walls on Seattle Ridge, I'm assuming they were associated with gap winds. I'll try to get a TR up in the next few days.
Skied Hatcher today, first time I've been up there this season. Had been hoping to get back into Fairangel, but changed our plans after triggering a couple wind slab avalanches on small slopes on the approach. Lots of obvious wind loading farther up the valley as well. Ended up skiing a couple laps around the Pinnacle, and a couple laps on the Darkside, and whatever the sunny side of that is called. Lots of sensitive pockets along the ridgelines, along with continuous wind throughout the day. Dug a pit high on a South aspect and pleased to see the depth hoar is healing. Hit rocks on almost every run.
Mike.RecordsSkied Hatcher today, first time I've been up there this season. Had been hoping to get back into Fairangel, but changed our plans after triggering a couple wind slab avalanches on small slopes on the approach. Lots of obvious wind loading farther up the valley as well. Ended up skiing a couple laps around the Pinnacle, and a couple laps on the Darkside, and whatever the sunny side of that is called. Lots of sensitive pockets along the ridgelines, along with continuous wind throughout the day. Dug a pit high on a South aspect and pleased to see the depth hoar is healing. Hit rocks on almost every run.
Trip report from Hatcher last weekend. Skied Sunburst on Saturday. It was fine, stable, no wind affect. Shoulda gone for something bigger, but was feeling lazy. Didn't motivate to ski today, but it looked nice out there. Maybe and inch or two of new snow.
The NRCS published the February 1, 2015 Alaska Snow Survey. Its not available online yet, but will be here: http://ambcs.org/aksnow/bor_ak.html. Some highlights:
--- Overview ---
Snowpack across most of most of the state is below normal. Much precipitation with winter came as rain across the state instead of snow and what little snow accumulated early in the season has diminished.
There is a swath of near normal snowpack. It starts in the central Copper basin and moves north across the Alaska Range into the Tanana Basin near Delta Junction and then further north into the White Mountains and into the southern Central Yukon Basin where it spreads out a little east and west. This swath, along with the Arctic (which is most likely near normal), are the only parts of the state with normal snow-pack.
Southeast Alaska is less than half normal –the further south the worse it gets. Also less than half normal is Southwest Alaska, Norton Sound and the Kenai Peninsula. Several sites on the Kenai set new 30-45 year record lows. Bertha Creek snow course only had 2” of snow with 0.4” of water content, 3% of normal. The next lowest year was last year when it had 15” of snow and 3.4” of water content.
The rest of the state was somewhere between dismal and normal. The upper Tanana, upper Koyukuk and Lower Yukon were all between 50-70% normal, while the lower Tanana and upper-Lower Yukon were between 70-90% normal.
--- Valdez ---
Worthington Glacier, just north of Thompson Pass, was 71% of normal with 54” of snow and 16.8” of water content.
--- Hatcher ---
In the Matanuska Basin, the southern Talkeetna Mountains are below normal as well. Independence Mine snow course has 38” of snow with 6.6 of water content, 77% of normal.
--- Chugach ---
If you didn’t think snow conditions in Northern Cook Inlet could get worse than last year, there’s this year to prove you wrong. Snow Conditions in Northern Cook Inlet are much below normal. The nine snow sites in the basin average only 30% of normal, down from 42% last year at this time. The Mt. Alyeska SNOTEL site had 9” of Snow with 2.4’ of water content, 12% of normal and 38% percent of what was last year’s record setting low water content. This is the lowest record since the record began in 1973.
Skied Sydney Creek up at Hatcher yesterday. Cannot believe how totally destroyed by the wind it is. I don't think Eldorado is even skiable, because there is no snow left. Collapsing, cracking, and wind pockets everywhere. North aspects seemed to be the only thing that is safe, not to say the skiing was great.
Drove down to Thompson Pass at the end of last week. Thin at the road, stacked up high. Open and flowing water at the road plus rain crust. Sledding up from the road was downright terrifying. The low glaciers are still quite open and would be a huge hassle to cross. No deep instabilities up high. A little wind slab development, but I imagine it will heal, it wasn't sitting on a weak layer. Won't be long before we go back.
Skied Common Bowl, Hippy Bowl, and Proper today. Strong winds out of the south all day. Obvious and significant wind loading on west faces and all sorts of cracking associated with it. 6 - 8 inches new snow up high, three lower down.
In an effort to escape the wind slabs and deep instabilities of Hatcher we went farther east in the Talkeetnas. Wind was howling out in the open and still significant deep within the couloir. Shallow but stable snowpack, can't wait to get back there once there's a refresh and a wind free period.
Skied several SW facing chutes at the top of Goodwill Creek today. Cold and awesome. Dug an extended column pit to the ground and stopped banging on it when we got bored well after 30 taps without any failure. Almost no sloughing, produced a few cracks on complex windloaded west facing terrain.
Mike.RecordsIn an effort to escape the wind slabs and deep instabilities of Hatcher we went farther east in the Talkeetnas. Wind was howling out in the open and still significant deep within the couloir. Shallow but stable snowpack, can't wait to get back there once there's a refresh and a wind free period.
Skied Common Bowl, Hippy Bowl, and Proper today. Strong winds out of the south all day. Obvious and significant wind loading on west faces and all sorts of cracking associated with it. 6 - 8 inches new snow up high, three lower down.
Skied Fairangel yesterday. The chutes were good, but the aprons had mostly slid. Where they hadn't was a mix of pow, wind board, hollow windslab, breakable crust, or sun crust. Some 1 meter+ crowns back there. Fast sloughs on the smooth bed surface.
And as far as skiing in the Cantwell area I know there are some people who do (cause I see the tracks in the spring), but I just think none of them are on NS.
Alpine creek lodge is a year round lodge on denali highway that Snowmobiles around the cantwell area. They know the area pretty well.
Got out for a quick lap at Turnagain this morning. So damn good and even more stable. Melt crust goes up pretty high and couldn't quite ski back to the road. Wondering if I should take the rest of the week off.
And as far as skiing in the Cantwell area I know there are some people who do (cause I see the tracks in the spring), but I just think none of them are on NS.
Alpine creek lodge is a year round lodge on denali highway that Snowmobiles around the cantwell area. They know the area pretty well.
Mike.RecordsSkied several SW facing chutes at the top of Goodwill Creek today. Cold and awesome. Dug an extended column pit to the ground and stopped banging on it when we got bored well after 30 taps without any failure. Almost no sloughing, produced a few cracks on complex windloaded west facing terrain.
Dug a pit on the north side of peak 3 yesterday. Column test failed in the storm snow at 12. Up in Falls Creek today on a west aspect at the bottom of the couloirs ECTP5 for the storm snow and ECTP8 for 1.5 feet down: windslab on facets.
Got back on Tuesday from 10 days on the Pika. During which 9 feet of snow fell. 4 days of stable bluebird, and lots of shoveling. Pretty surreal to sit in the tent and hear avalanches coming down around us day and night. The Otter got stuck on the glacier for an hour when we tried to leave; then caught up with a Beaver that couldn't make it through the walls of heavy snow and had to turn back and spend the night on the Ruth. Should be a very entertaining TR coming out of this one :) :) :)
50KalSo I heard from a semi reliable source that it snowed in the Denali area significantly. Can anyone confirm or deny this information?
I have not been watching the forcast as I'm not in the area Yet.
Specifically mount Healy on hwy 3.
I will be in hiking distance in 3 & 1/2 weeks and would like to know if it is worth brining skis to AK.
+ karma to any info.
So, like I said above, 9 feet of new snow at 5,500 feet in the AK Range. Who even knows how much snow is under that. But snow level rapidly decreases with elevation. Almost no snow on the ground at Talkeetna. Flew around quite a bit trying to get thru some gnarly snowfall, went north to Kesugi Ridge. Thin up there as well. At the same time, there has been consistent precip falling in the Susitna Valley for several weeks now, but its been rain down low. Flew up the Hwy 3 corridor a month ago. Even then the DNP entrace -> Healy looked thin. I'll try to get up some pictures from then if you want or have anything specifically that you are looking for.
Otherwise, its warm and springlike here. There are buds on the trees and birds flying north every day.
Mike.RecordsEven then the DNP entrace -> Healy looked thin. I'll try to get up some pictures from then if you want or have anything specifically that you are looking for.
Otherwise, its warm and springlike here. There are buds on the trees and birds flying north every day.
I've been looking at FAA cams and everyone I talk to in AK is saying the same thing. You need to go high if your gonna ski. I gonna just bag the idea for skiing in AK for the summer. If I had the cash I would get a air taxi to somewhere higher but wont have the time to.
50KalI've been looking at FAA cams and everyone I talk to in AK is saying the same thing. You need to go high if your gonna ski. I gonna just bag the idea for skiing in AK for the summer. If I had the cash I would get a air taxi to somewhere higher but wont have the time to.
So good out there right now. Corn on solar aspects, creamy pow on N aspects. Toured up towards Kickstep on Saturday. Didn't go to the top because of significant and ongoing windloading, but skied a couple of short laps off its flanks. Then we went back by Tincan Peak and skied two of chutes. The 6th rider on the slope triggered a small wind pocket slab in the apron of one of our runs above Tincan Creek. I wrote a more thorough obs about it on the CNFAIC page.
Mellow day on Pastoral and Sunburst yesterday. Despite the warm overnight temps there was still ice from the previous night in the flowing ditch by the road when we left the car at 11. Awesome, creamy, consolidated pow on Pastoral. Smooth corn on Sunburst. No major wetslides coming down Sunburst yet. Skied all the way back to the road, but that's not going to last for long.
On Saturday morning we left the Glen Alps parking lot and headed up the Powerline Pass trail. The plan was to ski the S couloir then work our way North skiing a series of N facing couloirs. However, upon climbing the S couloir we found a variety of near-surface and surface snow conditions that we didn’t like. These ranged from 8 inch deep graupel and hail overlain by 3 inches of new snow, thin melt freeze crust, roller balls/pinwheels, hard bed surface from gouging wet slides, hard bed surface from dry sloughs, and dry soft wind slab near the top. However, hoping to gain insight into what we might find on similar aspects and elevations, we continued to near the top. Upon descending sun softened snow was already present on low angle north facing terrain. Given our findings we then changed our gameplan and skied SW and W facing terrain on Peak 4, Peak 3, and Flattop. We found generally supportable melt-freeze crust on these solar aspects, except of course near rocks and thin spots in the snowpack.
Hiked and skied the SW bowl of Penguin Sunday morning. Due to time constraints the skiing was early when snow was still hard. New ice at sea level in the parking lot puddles still present at 8:30 AM. Still frozen snow surface to snow line upon descent at 11. Skiable snow to approximately 1,000 feet. Several relatively recent avalanches visible in the North bowl of Penguin on N and W aspects.
