Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Dogtooth, East Purcell, Purcells.
Watch for changing conditions and signs of instability as you travel.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
Over the past few days, small (size 1) wind slab avalanches were reported in alpine terrain. A size 2 wind slab avalanche was remotely triggered by skiers on a steep south-facing slope near Golden on Wednesday.
Snowpack Summary
Alpine terrain is wind-affected. 5 to 15 cm of dry snow may be found on north-facing slopes, otherwise, the upper snowpack mostly consists of various melt-freeze layers.
The facet/crust layer that caused large avalanches in March is buried 60 to 120 cm deep and is unlikely to trigger under the current conditions.
Weather Summary
Thursday Night
Cloudy with 1 to 2 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.
Friday
Mostly cloudy. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2200 m.
Saturday
Sunny. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +3 °C. Freezing level 2700 m.
Sunday
Sunny. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +6 °C. Freezing level 3000 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.
- Minimize your exposure time below cornices.
- Watch for unstable snow on specific terrain features, especially when the snow is moist or wet.