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Avalanche conditions: Hatcher Pass & the Chugach

Today's danger rating and the date of the latest forecast for Hatcher Pass, Turnagain Pass and Girdwood, Summit Lake, Chugach State Park, Seward, and Thompson Pass. Every rating comes straight from the center that wrote it.

This page is not an avalanche forecast.

It's a quick summary that can be out of date or wrong. A one-word rating leaves out the problems, aspects, and elevations that matter. Read the center's full forecast before you go, every time.

  • Get avalanche training before you travel in avalanche terrain, like an AIARE or Alaska Avalanche School course.
  • Carry a beacon, shovel, and probe, know how to use them, and travel with partners who do too.
  • One at a time on slopes, and have a plan to change it when you see red flags: recent avalanches, cracking, collapsing, or rapid loading.
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Forecast zones

Colors show the current danger rating. Tap a zone for its forecast link.

North American Public Avalanche Danger Scale

Ratings and travel advice as used by every U.S. avalanche center. Danger is often different by elevation, so the full forecast gives a rating for each band.

    Snowpack & weather

    Hatcher Pass

    Turnagain Pass & Girdwood

    Summit Lake & Chugach State Park

    Thompson Pass

    SNOTEL stations are run by the USDA NRCS and report snow depth, snow water equivalent, and temperature, usually every hour. Elevations are from NRCS.

    These forecasts exist because people support them

    HPAC, CNFAC, and the Alaska Avalanche Information Center rely on donations, memberships, and the observations you send in. If you ski, ride, sled, or hunt in avalanche terrain, chip in, and send an observation when you see an avalanche, cracking, or collapsing. Even "nothing happened" helps.

    Ski touring avalanche gear

    All gear kits →

    The non-negotiables

    • Avalanche transceiver (beacon). A modern three-antenna digital beacon, worn on your body, switched to send, and checked at the trailhead.
    • Metal shovel. A metal blade with an extendable shaft. Most of a rescue is digging.
    • Probe, 240 cm or longer. Alaska's deep maritime snowpack is why 300 cm-plus probes are common up here.
    • Training and partners. Gear only helps if everyone in the group has practiced a companion rescue.

    Optional extras: an airbag pack, an inReach or other satellite messenger, and a small repair and first aid kit.

    MSR Striker CX 320 avalanche probeImage: MSR

    Avalanche safety · On sale

    MSR Striker CX 320 Probe

    A 320 cm carbon probe, long enough for Turnagain and Hatcher snowpacks and light enough to always carry.

    $74.89 $99.95

    Alaska shipping: Free FedEx Ground to Palmer (99645) in the cart.

    Price and shipping checked on cascadedesigns.com on Oct 19, 2026. Prices change.

    View at Cascade Designs →

    Learn more

    Data: ratings, dates, and zone outlines come from the public avalanche.org API, which the centers publish to. Chugach Cache is not affiliated with any avalanche center, and nothing here replaces their forecasts.