Purcells

Remember, even small avalanches at the surface have the potential to step down to weak layers deep within the snowpack.

Three size 2, skier-triggered avalanches occurred on Monday, west of Invermere. They took place in alpine and treeline terrain on various aspects. It appears that the upper snowpack consolidated into a cohesive slab due to recent warm temperatures and subsequently failed on facet layers approximately 50 cm below the surface.

Recent snow continues to settle and bond. This new snow is sitting atop old wind-affected surfaces and weak, faceted grains.

The mid-snowpack is generally made up of faceted snow and various old crusts.

At the base of the snowpack, weak faceted grains and depth hoar are present, particularly in alpine terrain.

Tuesday Night

Cloudy with trace snow amounts, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -5 °C.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy with no precipitation, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -6 °C.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with trace snow amounts, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -5 °C.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with trace snow amounts, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
• Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.
• If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.