Avalanche forecast

Purcells

Nov 23 – 24, 2024Avalanche Canada
View on map
Archived · expired 2 years ago

Avalanche danger

Mon
Tue
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low

Highlights

A dangerous avalanche problem exists.
Stick to low-angle slopes free from terrain traps and overhead hazards.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    2–2.5

    Large avalanches are possible where weak, sugary facets sit on top of a crust near the base of the snowpack. This problem is most likely found in the alpine, in steep rocky areas.

Confidence

Low

Avalanche Summary

Several large (size 2-2.5) natural persistent slab avalanches were observed near Invermere on Thursday. They occurred in the alpine on west to north aspects.

Information is very limited at the moment. Please consider submitting a MIN.

Snowpack Summary

40-50 cm of soft snow sits on a layer of surface hoar on shaded slopes, or a thin crust on sunny slopes.

There is a crust from early November at the base of the snowpack. The crust may have weak, sugary facets on top, if this is the case large avalanches are possible.
Snowpack depths are expected to be 50-70 cm at treeline.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with 5 cm of snow.10 to 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Sunday

Mix of sun and cloud with up to 5 cm of snow. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Choose simple, low-angle terrain without steep convex rolls.
  • Make observations and continually assess conditions as you travel.
  • Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.

Regions covered