With an influx of borough funding, the Haines Avalanche Center this year created a new staff position and is conducting twice as many avalanche forecasts as in years past. The forecasts inform backcountry users about current snow conditions and avalanche risk.
The borough quintupled its funding for the center this year, budgeting $24,000, compared to between $0 and $5,000 in previous years.
“The extra funding has allowed us to keep a set schedule that’s consistent from week to week and can provide enough hours to cover the days we need to cover. That makes all the difference for the reliability of the forecast and the reliability of observations,” said avalanche center director Erik Stevens, adding that the additional staff member—EMT and mountain guide Brady McGuire—has led to improved forecasting frequency and accuracy.
The avalanche center posts forecasts at alaskasnow.org Thursday through Sunday. Previously, it published them only on the weekend.
“I’m humbled to be on board and use this new funding to facilitate avalanche research and education for the greater good of the community,” McGuire said in a text to the CVN. “The fact that we have a resource like HAC that is backed by our local government speaks volumes about the interest in the safety of residents and outdoor recreation seekers.”
This winter has seen significantly more snow so far than in recent years. At one point in early December, it had snowed 29 of 33 consecutive days, according to a social media post by the avalanche center.
The heavy snowfall has been a boon for winter recreationists. “(This year) has been really busy. There have been a lot of people going out skiing and riding. We’ve been working tirelessly to get information and keep people informed,” Stevens said.
With regards to avalanche conditions, Stevens said the cold, snowy weather has made for a fairly stable snowpack, although there are still persistent weak layers—a problem created when a weak layer of snow, which resists bonding, is buried under fresh snow. Weak layers can last months. Stevens said the layers are deep enough that they are hard to trigger, but if triggered could cause large avalanches.
Although the weather has been consistent and the snowpack has been mostly stable, there is still risk venturing into the backcountry. Stevens said there have been natural avalanches in ski areas, like on Mt. Ripinsky and Old Faithful, but that “most deadly avalanches are triggered by humans, (and) the good news is that people have been doing a good job not triggering avalanches this year and making good decisions.”
Stevens also said there has been an unusual number of glide avalanches in the valley. Those occur when the entire snowpack slides from the ground. Stevens said they aren’t a major issue but don’t usually occur when the weather has been as consistently cold as it has been. “We’ve kind of been scratching our heads about why that’s happening,” he said, adding that avalanche forecasters in Girdwood have seen a similar phenomenon there this year.
Another feature to watch out for, Stevens said, is current surface hoar (ice crystals that are bad at bonding to fresh snow), which could spell dangerous avalanche conditions when buried by the next big storm.
The avalanche center offers both free and more in-depth, paid educational courses. Course offerings can be found at alaskasnow.org. The center is still finalizing its schedule of free courses.