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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 31st, 2025–Jan 1st, 2026

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

Esplanade, Dogtooth, East Purcell, St. Mary.

Watch for reactive wind slabs at higher elevations, especially where the snowpack is thin or variable. In these areas, avalanches could step down to buried crusts.

Confidence

High

  • Confidence is due to a stable weather pattern with little change expected.
  • Uncertainty is due to the complexity of the snowpack’s structure.

Avalanche Summary

A few small (size 1 to 2) rider-triggered avalanches were reported over the weekend. These were primarily around treeline elevations on southerly terrain, failing 10 to 40 cm deep.

On Saturday, a larger skier-triggered avalanche in the Golden area appeared to step down to a buried crust in the lower snowpack. This occurred on a treeline slope with a shallow, thin to thick snowpack.

Snowpack Summary

Recent storm snow is continuing to settle and strengthen. In exposed alpine and treeline areas, wind-affected surfaces remain. On steep, south-facing slopes, a thin sun crust is likely to form overnight.

In the mid-snowpack, a melt-freeze crust exists that was buried in mid-December. This layer is most prevalent at treeline elevations and below.

The lower snowpack consists of a thick melt-freeze crust, with weak faceted snow and/or depth hoar near the ground in areas.

Snow depths vary widely across the region, ranging from roughly 100 to 200 cm at treeline.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night
Clear skies. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

Thursday
Cloud building throughout the day. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Friday
Mostly cloudy. 0 to 3 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
  • Avoid lee and cross-loaded slopes at alpine and treeline elevations.
  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.