Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 1st, 2023–Jan 2nd, 2023

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

Regions

Purcells, Dogtooth, East Purcell.

Numerous buried weak layers continue to produce large avalanches. Conservative terrain choices are strongly recommended.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

We are within a period of significant avalanche activity in the Purcells, with many notable large persistent slab avalanches (e.g., this one near Golden). Buried weak layers have been easily triggered by riders and with explosives, with numerous size 2 to 3 slabs reported over the past week. These avalanches have mostly been in alpine terrain and have propagated widely across terrain features.

Triggering large persistent slab avalanches may remain a concern for a while within this region.

Snowpack Summary

Roughly 40 cm of recent snow has settled into a slab that overlies weak faceted grains. The snow is also stressing buried weak layers, including:

  • A surface hoar layer buried in mid-December that is 40 to 60 cm deep

  • Weak faceted snow and decomposing crusts near the bottom of the snowpack, ranging from 70 to 150 cm deep.

These layers have produced large avalanches over the past week and need more time to strengthen.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Clear skies with no precipitation, 10 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperature -9 °C.

Monday

Sunny with no precipitation, 10 km/h south wind, treeline temperature -6 °C.

Tuesday

Mostly sunny with no precipitation, 10 km/h south wind, treeline temperature -7 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with isolated flurries, 20 to 40 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperature -11 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Choose conservative terrain and watch for clues of instability.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Remote triggering is a concern, watch out for adjacent and overhead slopes.
  • Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.

Problems

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.