Purcells

If you're venturing to deeper snowpack areas on the western side of the region, the Avalanche Danger may be higher than posted. Consider also checking the neighbouring South Columbia bulletin for insight into what may be happening in these areas.

Moderate - Wind effect is extremely variable

Expect a mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries on Monday and Tuesday. Generally clear skies are forecast for Wednesday. Ridgetop winds are expected to remain mainly light to moderate from the southwest while freezing levels should hover around valley bottom for the forecast period. For a more detailed weather overview, check out our Mountain Weather Forecast at avalanche.ca/weather.

Pockets of wind slab to size 1.5 continue to be triggered naturally or under light loads on a variety of aspects in the alpine. Loose dry snow continues to be reported falling naturally from steep terrain up to size 1.5.

15-25 cm of recent storm snow overlies a weak mix of surface hoar, facets, and sun crusts that were buried on January 4th. This storm snow is generally loose and unconsolidated in sheltered areas; however, strong winds are reported to have shifted these accumulations into reactive wind slabs at higher elevations. On the far western slopes of the region, considerably more snow may overlie the January 4th layer, and a more destructive and widespread slab may exist. For an idea of what may be happening there, I'd suggest also reading the bulletin for the neighbouring South Columbia region. Some operations continue to track deeper buried surface hoar from early December. While test results on deeply buried surface hoar continue to show planar results when hard forces are applied, there have not been any avalanches reported failing on this layer. I have removed the persistent weak layer problem from the front page, and we will continue to monitor reports from operators in this region. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled and strong.