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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 9th, 2025–Jan 10th, 2025

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

Purcells, Dogtooth, East Purcell, West Purcell.

Keep an eye on changing conditions. Small wind slabs may form near ridge crests throughout the day.

Use extra caution in shallow snowpack areas where triggering avalanches is more likely.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Small natural and human triggered wind slab avalanches continue to be reported in the region. These avalanches have been on west and south aspects at treeline and above.

On Wednesday a small skier triggered  persistent slab Avalanche was reported on Mount Goldie. This avalanche likely released on the weak layer from early December. For more info check out the MIN report.

Snowpack Summary

Throughout the day on Friday new wind slabs could form as a result of moderate southwest winds and light snowfall.

The upper snowpack contains a variety of layers including one or more surface hoar layers just below the surface in sheltered terrain and a crust on or near the surface on solar aspects.

A weak layer buried in early December can be found down 30 cm in shallow areas and as much as 120 cm in deep snowpack areas. On shaded slopes, it consists of weak surface hoar or faceted crystals, while on south-facing slopes, it combines a sun crust with facets.

The snowpack base is composed of a thick crust and facets in many areas.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with around 5 cm of snow. 25 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 15 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Sunday

Mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 25 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Recent wind has varied in direction, so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
  • Avoid thin areas like rocky outcrops where you're most likely to trigger avalanches on deep weak layers.
  • Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been affected by wind.

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.