Avalanche Forecast

Moderate

• Uncertainty is due to how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.
• Uncertainty is due to the speed, direction, or duration of the wind and its effect on the snowpack.

On Friday, storm/wind slabs were running naturally size 2-2.5, with a few size 1-1.5 triggered accidentally by riders. These were on north to east aspects, mostly at alpine and treeline elevations.

Many operations throughout the region conducted explosive control work on Friday as well, producing storm/wind slabs size 1.5-2.5, with one larger instance in the West Purcells of a step-down to the November crust on a southeast aspect in the alpine.

Ongoing flurries continue to add to 60 to 90 cm of recent storm snow sitting over a hard crust that extends up to 2300 m. Wind is redistributing the recent snow in exposed terrain.

Where the crust is thick and supportive, it effectively caps a couple of mid snowpack instabilities, making them difficult to trigger. These layers, now over 150 cm deep, may still be a concern in the high alpine where the crust is thin or nonexistent.

Saturday Night
Cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow, 15+ cm in high terrain in the central Selkirks and west Purcells. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 15 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
• Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
• Don't let the desire for deep powder pull you into high consequence terrain.