Haines Avalanche Center

Forecast as of 02/21/2020 at 8:00 am and expires on 02/21/2020

Above 2,500ftNone

1,500 to 2,500ftNone

Below 1,500ftNone

Degrees of Avalanche Danger

Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme

Avalanche Problems

Problem 1

Wind Slab:

Likelihood:

  • Almost Certain
  • Very Likely
  • Likely
  • Possible
  • Unlikely

Size:

  • Historic
  • Very Large
  • Large
  • Small

Trend

  • Increasing
  • Steady
  • Decreasing

Problem 2

Deep Slab:

Likelihood:

  • Almost Certain
  • Very Likely
  • Likely
  • Possible
  • Unlikely

Size:

  • Historic
  • Very Large
  • Large
  • Small

Trend

  • Increasing
  • Steady
  • Decreasing

Avalanche Activity

Observations in the Pass have been thin due to weeks of bad weather.

Photo: Large natural slide near Chuck Creek/Dick Creek submitted to HAC in early January.

Three people were buried by a slide near the Chuck Creek trailhead on Dec. 30th, with 1 survivor. More information available on our Accidents page.

Please report any observed avalanche activity on our observations page.

Weather

South of the Pass, there was a massive 8-10ft snow dump between January 19th-Feb 5th (Sadly this plentiful snowfall didn’t make it up to the higher elevations in the Pass itself, which had strong north winds strip away most of the new snow.) Since then, warm weather brought light-moderate rain/snow mix up to 1,500ft from Feb. 6th-13th.

From the 14th-16th, temperatures dropped into the teens and a few inches of new snow fell on top of the re-frozen snowpack. 

Over the last 4 days, around 1″ of new SWE has fallen over the area. Snow levels started out near 1500ft Tuesday/Wednesday, and dropped to sea level Thursday. This resulted in about a foot of fresh snow above 1000ft.

Weather Forecast for Friday: Occasional snow showers, 0-3″ of snow accumulation.

Weather Forecast for Saturday : Mostly cloudy with occasional snow showers. 0-2″ accumulation. Moderate SE winds decreasing in the afternoon. Alpine temperatures near 25F.

   Snow Depth [in] Last 24-hr Snow/SWE [in] Last 3-days Snow/SWE [in]  Today’s Freezing Level [ft]  Today’s Winds Next 24-hr Snow/SWE
Mount Ripinsky @ treeline
  120+” 14″ / 1.20* 22″ / 1.90 * 0 Mod, SE 2″ / 0.15    *
Flower Mountain @ treeline
  72″ 6″ / 0.50  10″ / 1.00  0 Mod, SE 1″ / 0.10     *
Chilkat Pass @ 3,100ft
  29″ 6″ / 0.40  8″ / 0.70  0 Mod, SE 0″ / 0.00   *

( *star means meteorological estimate )

Additional Information

Do a beacon check with your partners at the trailhead to ensure everyone is beeping and familiar with their equipment. Do a rescue practice / beacon practice at home. ALWAYS wear a beacon, shovel, and probe, and KNOW HOW TO USE THEM!

Education Calendar & Course Registration 2019-2020:
Haines Avalanche Rescue 01/18/2020- 

Announcements

Due to limited funding this season, we will be issuing occasional advisories dependent on conditions. Click the -Full Forecast- button below for more details. Please keep submitting your observations to keep everyone up-to-date on current conditions.