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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 8th, 2025–Jan 9th, 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.

Strong west winds have likely redistributed available snow into wind slabs

Evaluate terrain carefully for wind slabs before committing

Use extra caution in shallow snowpack areas

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

One size 1 wind slab avalanche was remotely triggered by a skier on a west aspect on Tuesday. No other avalanches were reported in the region over the past 2 days.

If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you see by submitting a MIN.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 15 cm of low-density snow sits atop a variety of surfaces, including wind-affected snow , surface hoar and facets on northerly     aspects and a thin breakable sun crust on southerly aspects. Moderate westerly winds have redistributed available snow into fresh wind slabs at upper elevations.

A weak layer buried in early December can be found down 30 cm in shallow areas and as much as 120 cm in deep snowpack areas. On shaded slopes, it consists of weak surface hoar or faceted crystals, while on south-facing slopes, it combines a sun crust with facets.

The snowpack base is composed of a thick crust and facets in many areas.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy with trace amounts of snow possible. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

Thursday

Mix of sun and cloud. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Friday

Cloudy with 5 to 10  cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Saturday

Mix of sun and cloud with up to 5 cm of snow possible. 10 to 25 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
  • Avoid thin areas like rocky outcrops where you're most likely to trigger avalanches on deep weak layers.
  • Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been affected by wind.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.

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.