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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 4th, 2024–Apr 5th, 2024

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

Regions

Purcells, Esplanade, Dogtooth, East Purcell, West Purcell.

Accumulated new snow is developing into storm slabs. Back off steep terrain if you see evidence of nearby avalanches or signs of instability like cracks in the snow surface.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, in the region's northeast, several natural and remotely-triggered wind slab avalanches up to size 2 were reported from north and east aspects in the alpine and treeline.

As storm snow accumulates, we expect storm slabs to form and become reactive and may trigger old wind slabs at alpine and treeline elevations.

Snowpack Summary

20 to 25 cm of new snow has accumulated over old wind slabs at alpine and treeline elevations, overlying a crust on all aspects and elevations.

A widespread crust with facets above is down 60 to 110 cm. This layer is unlikely to human trigger in areas where a thick crust above the weak layer is present.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with isolated flurries 2 to 4 cm. 10 to 20 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7° C.

Friday

Mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries, 2 to 4 cm. 5 to 10 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3° C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Saturday

Partly cloudy with isolated flurries, 0 to 2 cm snow. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2° C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Sunday

Partly cloudy. 10 to 15 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1° C. Freezing level 2100 m.

Check out the Mountain Weather Forecast for additional weather information.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.
  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.