Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 14th, 2025 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
Avalanche Canada,
Avalanche Canada
Avoid aggressive terrain choices where a persistent slab problem could exist. Steep, rocky, shallow terrain are the most likely trigger areas.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
Two notable avalanches occurred in the Dogtooth Range on Saturday:
A skier was caught in a size 2.5 wind slab avalanche that propagated widely across a northeast-facing slope. It ran on a 5 to 40 cm deep surface hoar layer. See this MIN report for details.
A group of skiers remotely triggered a size 2.5 persistent slab avalanche on a large southwest-facing alpine slope.
Many smaller (size 1 to 1.5) wind slab avalanches were also reported across the Purcells.
Snowpack Summary
Surface snow is a mix of newly developed surface hoar and sun crust. Wind-loaded pockets exist above various layers of soft snow, surface hoar, and melt-freeze crust.
A weak layer of facets buried in early December is on average 60 to 90 cm deep (except closer to 30 cm in the shallower eastern parts of the Purcells). This layer continues to cause occasional large avalanches.
The snowpack base consists of a thick crust and facets in many areas.
Weather Summary
Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Wednesday
Partly cloudy. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Thursday
Partly cloudy. Isolated flurries,1 cm. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Friday
Partly cloudy. Isolated flurries 1 to 2 cm. 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
- Pay attention to isolated wind affected features in the alpine, as well as cross-loaded features at treeline.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind slabs formed over the weekend are becoming more difficult to trigger but may be reactive where they overlie surface hoar or a melt-freeze crust.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
The early December weak layer remains a concern in areas with a shallow snowpack, particularly on steep rocky slopes.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 15th, 2025 4:00PM
