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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 9th, 2024–Feb 10th, 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, Dogtooth, East Purcell.

The deep persistent slab problem remains a concern in terrain where the crust tapers. Human-triggered avalanches are possible. Exercise diligence and use good travel habits.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported.

A size 2 deep persistent slab avalanche was explosive triggered in the north of the region on Thursday. The failure plane was a reloaded bed surface.

Snowpack Summary

Roughly 3 to 5 cm of new snow has buried various surfaces of soft snow, wind-affected, and sun crusts, further burying a crust now down 15 to 20 cm. This crust is generally supportive but tapers in the alpine and may be unsupportive to riders.

The upper midpack remains moist above a generally faceted snowpack. The lower snowpack contains weak faceted grains, depth hoar, and crusts that continue to be monitored for reactivity.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Mostly clear, no new snow. Alpine wind southwest 10 to 15 km/h. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

Saturday

Mostly clear, increasing afternoon cloud. Alpine wind southwest 10 to 15 km/h. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy isolated flurries with 2 to 4 cm accumulated. Alpine wind southwest 10 to 15 km/h. Treeline temperatures -7 °C.

Monday

Cloudy with isolated flurries with 1 to 2 cm accumulated. Alpine wind southwest 10 to 20 km/h

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.

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.