Heart pumping sequence caught on GoPro as a snowboarder in Turnagain Pass, Alaska triggered an avalanche and was carried 800 feet to the downslope. The snowboarder was lucky and was able to regain his feet and ride away. The avalanche occurred on a slope that had been loaded by winds the previous day. For all the latest avalanche forecast information in Alaska please go to Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center:
Our mission is to increase avalanche awareness in the Turnagain area through advisories and public education.
Avalanche forecasts are updated seven days a week, during the winter, on this website by 7 am.
The roots of the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Info Center (CNFAIC) arose from the tragedy that occurred on March 21, 1999 at Turnagain Pass where 6 snowmachiners were killed in a massive avalanche. Carl Skustad took the lead for the Forest Service and followed the business plan set up by the National Avalanche Center which guides new Avalanche Centers to start slowly to help ensure long-term success. In the fall of 2001, a phone line and a basic web site, designed by the late Jeff Nissman, put out snow pack and weather observations 5 days per week for the Turnagain Pass Area. The Center did not put out Avalanche Danger Ratings nor do any actual forecasting of avalanches. Skustad would spend time in Ketchum, Idaho being mentored at the Sawtooth Avalanche Center to learn about their operation. An appropriation from US Senator Ted Stevens in 2002 provided funding for the first 5 years of operations allowing the Center to purchase snowmachines, trailers, rescue cache, and several weather stations
