Purcells

Cold weather to the end of the week...

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Thursday: Mix of sun and cloud / Light southeast wind / Alpine temperature -13Friday: Sunny with cloudy periods / Light north wind / Alpine temperature -20 Saturday: Cloudy with isolated flurries / Light to moderate west wind / Alpine temperature of -14 

Recent avalanche activity has been limited to a few windslab releases in the alpine to size 1.

Recent wind has formed wind slabs on a variety of aspects in the alpine. The cold temperatures and clear skies are developing facets near the surface. There may be a layer of surface hoar buried 20-40cm deep in sheltered areas. Alpine snow depths are around 120-170 cm, and the widespread mid-november crust is buried down around 70-90 cm. Snowpack and crust depths increase as you move west toward the Selkirk Range. It sounds like there is a bit less snow on the ground in the south of the region, but we have not had many observations at this time. If you dig down to the crust, watch for facets developing above and below. This may provide a hard surface with a weak sliding layer in the future. Please let us know what you find by posting to the MIN (Mountain Information Network).