Conditions up in AK right now

[casper2096]

Hey guys,
Am heading over to AK (Cordova) in a cpl of weeks for some heli time and was wondering if anyone had the inside word on conditions up there at the moment.
From what i can tell its been windy with blue skies and not much in the way of snow and nothing in the forecast either !

Sounds like a recipe for wind scoured hard pack junk. I know you can't do anything about the weather but i'm gonna be bummed to travel all the way up there and get no snow. Until i started checking out the weather this week i figured my only concern would be getting in enough good weather !

40++ Degree faces covered in ice doesn't sound like much fun to me

[AKturnanburn]

your screwed, postpone for a few weeks.

[casper2096]

mmm. I had considered it but not sure how easy that would be at this point as i'm kinda locked in now... Fingers crossed that the snow gods look kindly on me !

[McScrundle]

Well that sucks, cause I'm heading up to cordova in a couple weeks too and I'm stuck with that week.

[WyoWill]

From this past weekend in southcentral:


Although many of the areas protected from the wind were pretty sweet.

[Chugachjed]

You should probably just not come. I'll fill your spot as long as you're paying. Damn WyoWill looks better than the snow I found this weekend lovin the elevated skintrack.

[WyoWill]

I guess it actually was Thursday. I'd seen the elevated skin track before, but the elevated pole plants were a new one for me.

[McScrundle]

It looks like there may be a LITTLE something in the far off forecast.

http://www.accuweather.com/us/ak/cor...011&view=table

[powpig]

Well that sucks, cause I'm heading up to cordova in a couple weeks too and I'm stuck with that week.

I'm heading this weekend and not too excited after reading this:

http://www.thompsonpass.com/home/Home/Home.html

March 1, 2011

1700

19F/Mostly Clear/NE5G25

Ski - POOR through the remainder of the week. Some windboard surfaces are skiable with protected, steeper chutes hard and icy. Wind event really hammered the entire Chugach around Valdez over the past 4 days. Field observations include widespread scouring leaving no areas “unprotected”. Of particular interest is total erosion of the glacial snowpacks. Any new snow will mask exposed rocks and make skiing very difficult without a base to provide adequate coverage over scoured areas. Unless of course, you know where the areas are with entrained snow. It will take a significant amount of snow to rebuild the snowpack over scoured terrain. If you are passionate about skiing, none of this will matter and you will get out and get some sunshine and do some skiing!

[Alaskan Rover]

It looks like there may be a LITTLE something in the far off forecast.

http://www.accuweather.com/us/ak/cor...011&view=table

Well, 15 day forecasts in the Chugach are about as reliable as a Yugo....PWS seems to screw with the weather a lot....not that long-term weather forecasts in the Ak Range are any better...heh heh.

I don't think you'll have too much to gripe about, though. There IS snow, just a little old, is all. Yeah...the exposed faces will be fairly wind-blown crusty, but as WyoWill inferred, there should be enough places protected from the prevailing wind to at least bring a smile. Humidity has been very low, so definitely expect quite a bit of sublimination. Your whirly-bird pilot should know the good spots. I imagine you're probably using Points-North, Inc...those guys are pretty good and won't steer you wrong...shit, they better not be for the price you'll be paying for air-time!...Try and change the date for late March...but if you're locked in, you're locked in...so might as well enjoy it. Hell...the Chugach, even when it's nasty and shitty is still full of awesome.

I've got some friends at the Geophysical Institute in Fairbanks that go down and do a lot of work in that part of the Chugach...they can give you the low-down on the specific conditions on various faces. Or just as good, contact the Alaska Avalanche Information Center...I think a guy named Steve Witsoe is their guy in Cordova.

EDIT: I was just thinking...it's sort of funny (well, not really) that in these windy, sublimating times, the BEST conditions in the Chugach you wouldn't even need a helicopter for. You might want to think about trading in your heli time for some snowmachine time.

[muzzyman87]

EDIT: I was just thinking...it's sort of funny (well, not really) that in these windy, sublimating times, the BEST conditions in the Chugach you wouldn't even need a helicopter for. You might want to think about trading in your heli time for some snowmachine time.

I love it, pay less for more..

This wind is killing me! When the skin tracks are elevated, it's time to break trail somewhere new.

[sfotex]

How much snow does it take to turn things around up there? Was thinking of heading up the end of this month/early April, and it looks like there's some storms stacking up.

[BFD]

How much snow does it take to turn things around up there?

there is snow. Most places are probably running around 1/2 to 2/3 of normal. I'm a little concerned about the next possible weather event. Supposed to be cold. Might not be what you want between what we have now and the next big dump. April is historically the driest month but who knows this year. I do not know about the heli terrain. I do know my touring terrain is just one warm storm away from being back on. I do not know your plans. There is definitely skiing to be had and there will be in April. Personally I wouldn't be any place else in April. Want to add the above is my opinion and I am not an expert in anything related to this subject.