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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 7th, 2025–Apr 8th, 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.

Head to high north facing slopes to find the best conditions.

Avoid thin and rocky start zones, persistent slab avalanches have been recently reported.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Over the weekend, small wet loose avalanches were reported to size 1.

Avalanches on buried weak layers continue to be sporadically reported from thin and rocky terrain features. Additionally, on Friday, a natural cornice fall triggered a 2.5-sized slab on a northeasterly alpine slope.

Snowpack Summary

Snowfall totals may reach 10 cm in higher terrain in the West Purcells, sitting over a crust or moist snow. Surface snow at lower elevations is expected to remain wet.

Several weak layers from early March, mid-February and late January can be found in the mid and lower snowpack. These layers remain a concern where a thick crust isn’t present above.

The base of the snowpack is generally faceted.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Freezing level lowering to 1500 m.

Tuesday

Partly cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level around 2000 m.

Wednesday

Partly cloudy with up to 5 cm. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level around 2000 m.

Thursday

Clear skies with 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Freezing levels around 2000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid areas with a thin or variable snowpack.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.

Problems

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

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.