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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 10th, 2024–Feb 11th, 2024

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

Regions

Purcells, Dogtooth, East Purcell.

The deep persistent slab problem remains a concern. This low probability, high consequence problem continues to produce large avalanches. Diligence in terrain choice is essential.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Several dry loose up to size 1 were reported across the region on Friday.

Details on a recent large avalanche near Golden reported in this MIN and pictured in this MIN are sparse. Sporadic deep persistent avalanche activity continues to occur in this region. Steep, rocky treeline, and alpine terrain where the crust is not supportive are likely trigger spots.

Snowpack Summary

New snow has buried various surfaces of soft snow, wind-affected, and sun crusts, further burying a crust now down 15 to 20 cm. This crust is generally supportive but tapers in the alpine and may be unsupportive to riders.

The midpack is generally faceted and the lower snowpack contains weak faceted grains, depth hoar, and crusts that continue to produce sporadic large avalanches.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy with isolated flurries beginning 1 to 2 cm accumulated. Alpine wind southwest 10 to 15 km/h. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy isolated flurries with 3 to 6 cm accumulated. Alpine wind southeast 10 to 15 km/h. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Monday

Cloudy with isolated flurries with 1 to 2 cm accumulated. Alpine wind variable 10 to 20 km/h increasing overnight. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with sunny breaks. Alpine wind northwest 15 to 20 km/h. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.

Problems

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.