Purcells

A tricky snowpack is already taking shape in the Purcells. Continue to gather information as you travel and be sure to increase caution if you're venturing into the alpine.

Low - Due to the number of field observations

Friday night: Mainly cloudy with light north winds.Saturday: Mainly cloudy. Light northwest winds. Alpine high temperatures around -8.Sunday: A mix of sun and cloud. Light southwest winds. Alpine high temperatures warming to around -4.Monday: Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries bringing a trace to 10 cm of new snow. Light to moderate southwest winds. Alpine high temperatures of -2 as freezing levels rise to around 1500 metres.

Skiers and explosives have recently triggered small wind slabs in cross-loaded and lee terrain features at treeline and alpine elevations. Earlier in the month, a natural avalanche cycle took place over the late October crust/facet combination. Be aware of the continued possibility for smaller avalanches to 'step down' or even initiate at this deeper layer.

Light snowfall over Thursday and Friday buried a widespread layer of weak, feathery surface hoar crystals with about 5-10 cm of new snow. Reports from several points in the region show this surface hoar sitting above a layer of recently reactive wind slab that was created by strong winds earlier this week. This wind slab layer overlies yet another widespread layer of surface hoar from mid-November, now found about 20-40 cm deep. A final, prominent feature of the snowpack is a combination of a melt-freeze crust and underlying sugary, faceted snow found around the base of the snowpack. Avalanches have been triggered where there is a slab above this crust.