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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 8th, 2026–Jan 9th, 2026

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

Regions

South Rockies, East Purcell, Bull.

Wind slabs remain triggerable at upper elevations.

Verify conditions as you travel and back off if you notice signs of instability.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, a size 1 wind slab was triggered accidentally by a skier on a northwest-facing treeline slope. A size 2 naturally triggered wind slab occurrent on the same aspect but in the alpine.

On Monday & Tuesday, several natural and human-triggered slab avalanches up to size 2 were reported. These occurred on a variety of aspects and elevation zones.

Looking forward: We expect wind slabs to remain triggerable on Friday, especially where they overlie surface hoar.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 30 cm of recently accumulated storm snow covers a variety of old surfaces, including surface hoar in wind-sheltered terrain, and a sun crust on steep south-facing slopes.

In the mid-snowpack, a melt-freeze crust exists that was buried in mid-December. This layer is most prevalent at treeline elevations and below.

The lower snowpack consists of a thick melt-freeze crust, with weak faceted snow and/or depth hoar near the ground.

Snow depths vary widely across the region, averaging roughly 100 to 200 cm at treeline.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night
Mostly clear skies. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.

Friday
Mix of sun and clouds. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Saturday
Sunny. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 2000 m in the PM.

Sunday
Cloudy. 0 to 2 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
  • Surface hoar distribution is highly variable. Avoid generalizing your observations.

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.