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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 20th, 2025–Feb 21st, 2025

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Purcells, Esplanade, Dogtooth, East Purcell, St. Mary, West Purcell.

Low danger with little active weather through Friday. Expect to see some change through the weekend as the temperature rises, the wind picks up and some new snow arrives.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday there were several small (size 1 to 1.5) dry loose avalanches running in steep terrain facing the sun.

On Monday there was a fatal avalanche incident outside of our forecast region on the east side of the Columbia valley in the Rocky Mountain range near Kapristo Mountain . Click here to see more details.

Snowpack Summary

5 to 10 cm snow may be covering a layer of surface hoar in sheltered areas, or a hard sun-crust on sunny slopes.

A weak layer of facets and/or surface hoar buried late January is down 20 to 40 cm deep.

A weak layer of facets from early December is buried 60 to 120 cm. The base of the snowpack consists of facets or depth hoar in many areas.

 

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with 1 to 2 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Friday

Cloudy with 1 to 3 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries. 20 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.
  • Loose avalanches may start small, but they can grow and push you into dangerous terrain.

Problems

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.