Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 5th, 2024–Apr 6th, 2024

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

Regions

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

Recent new snow and northwest winds have developed isolated wind slabs at treeline and above. As you transition into open terrain, look for signs of instability, like shooting cracks.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Several small explosive-triggered wind slabs and size 1 to 1.5 wet loose from steep solars.

On Thursday, a few size 1 skier-triggered wind slab avalanches were reported in the Golden area.

Even short windows of sun coupled with rising freezing levels may initiate wet, loose avalanches on steep solar-facing slopes.

Snowpack Summary

Isolated flurries have accumulated 20 to 25 cm of new snow that remains dry on non-solar slopes, and is settling and could become moist on steep south facing. This new snow overlies a crust on all aspects and elevations that are more robust on solar-facing slopes.

A widespread crust with facets above is down 60 to 110 cm. This layer is unlikely to human trigger in areas where a thick crust above the weak layer is present.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Cloudy with isolated flurries, 1 to 2 cm. 5 to 10 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3° C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Saturday

Partly cloudy with isolated flurries, 2 to 4 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2° C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Sunday

Partly cloudy. 10 to 15 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1° C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Monday

Partly cloudy with trace accumulations, 10 to 15 km/h southwest winds. Treeline temperatures -2° C. Freezing levels 2000 m.

Check out the Mountain Weather Forecast for additional weather information.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
  • As surface loses cohesion due to melting, loose wet avalanches become common in steeper terrain.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.