Avalanche Forecast

Moderate -

Thursday: Flurries bringing a trace to 5 cm of new snow. Winds light to moderate from the southwest, gusting to strong in the afternoon. Freezing level to 1400 metres with alpine temperatures of -6.Friday: Periods of snow bringing 10-15 cm of new snow. Winds strong to extreme from the southwest. Freezing level to 1500 metres with alpine temperatures of -5Saturday: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries and a trace of new snow. Winds moderate from the southwest. Freezing level to 1200 metres with alpine temperatures of -7.

Aside from several Size 1 natural loose dry sluffs from steep terrain reported in the north of the region on Tuesday, no new avalanches have been reported.Some notable persistent slab avalanches were reported last week. This included natural activity on the western slopes of the Purcells (two size 2.5 avalanches on the February 3rd surface hoar and one size 3.5 avalanche on the November crust) and two large skier triggered avalanches near Golden (including a size 3 remotely-triggered avalanche on the mid-January interface). Triggering a persistent slab avalanche is currently a low probability - high consequence scenario that warrants a cautious approach to terrain. Looking forward, ongoing light snowfall and increasing winds on Thursday are expected to promote new wind slab activity at treeline and in the alpine.

5-15 cm of new snow fell over the region over Tuesday night, burying widely reported faceted surface snow as well as surface hoar recently reported at about 3mm on shaded aspects in some areas. About 25-55 cm below the surface you'll likely find the mid-February interface which is composed of a thick rain crust up to about 2000 m, sun crusts on steep solar aspects, and spotty surface hoar on shaded aspects. Several deeper weak layers remain a concern including the February 3rd surface hoar layer (40-80 cm deep) in the southern Purcells, and the mid-January surface hoar layer in the northern Purcells (about 100 cm deep). Basal facets may still be a reactive in shallow rocky start zones.