Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Bull, Dogtooth, East Purcell, Elkford East, Elkford West, Purcells, South Rockies.
Wind slabs may remain on isolated steep slopes in the alpine.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
A small (size 1.5) wet loose avalanche was triggered by a skier near Golden on Tuesday.
On Monday, a large cornice failure triggered a slab, entrained snow, and ended up as a size 2.5 wet loose avalanche.
Field observations are currently very limited in this region. Please consider sharing your observations to the Mountain Information Network.
Snowpack Summary
Northerly alpine slopes hold 10 to 20 cm of settled storm snow that overlies a hard melt-freeze crust. Isolated wind slabs may linger in steep northerly alpine terrain. All other aspects and everywhere below treeline have a hard surface crust.
The remainder of the upper snowpack is a mix of hard snow and crusts. The lower snowpack contains old weak layers that are currently dormant.
Weather Summary
Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2200 m.
Friday
Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 35 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy with 1 to 3 cm of snow. 15 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +1 °C. Freezing level 2300 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
- Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
- Be alert to conditions that change with aspect and elevation.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind slabs may linger on shaded aspects in steep, alpine terrain. Assess for slabs prior to entering high-consequence terrain.
Aspects: North, North East, East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5