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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 5th, 2024–Jan 6th, 2024

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

Regions

Purcells, East Purcell.

Triggering large avalanches is possible in steep, rocky, alpine terrain.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported at the time of publishing on Friday.

Snowpack Summary

The upper snowpack is comprised of crusts, settled powder, unconsolidated facets, and old wind slabs. Beneath lies a thin snowpack, with weak facets near the bottom, especially in alpine terrain.

Snowpack depths at treeline average 50 to 120 cm with significant regional variability.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Mostly cloudy with 2 cm of snow, southwest alpine wind 25 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -9 °C.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with 2 cm of snow, south alpine wind 5 to 15 km/h, treeline temperature -8 °C.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with 5 cm of snow, northwest alpine wind calm to 15 km/h, treeline temperature -12 °C.

Monday

A mix of sun and cloud with a dusting of snow, west alpine wind calm to 20 km/h, treeline temperature -13 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Use caution on large alpine slopes, especially around thin areas that may propagate to deeper instabilities.
  • Be especially cautious near rock outcroppings, on steep convexities and anywhere the snowpack feels thinner than average.

Problems

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.