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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 7th, 2024–Jan 8th, 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.

Don't let the recent snow draw you into big terrain, as triggering large avalanches remains possible in steep, rocky areas.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported.

If you go out in the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Snowpack Summary

Recent snow continues to accumulate atop a shallow, generally weak and unconsolidated snowpack.

The mid and lower snowpack contains a variety of layers including unconsolidated facets, crusts, and old wind-affected snow.

Weak basal facets characterize the lower snowpack, especially in alpine terrain.

Snowpack depths at treeline average 50 to 130 cm.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries, west alpine winds 10 to 20 km/h, treeline temperature -12 °C.

Monday

Mix of sun and cloud with no precipitation, southwest alpine winds 10 to 20 km/h, treeline temperature -12 °C.

Tuesday

Mix of sun and snow with up to 5 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -10 °C.

Wednesday

Mix of sun and cloud with trace snow amounts, northwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -12 °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.
  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.
  • 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.