Avalanche forecast

Purcells

Jan 14 – 15, 2025Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Steep open slopes are the most likely place to trigger a wind slab. Don't commit to a line where the snow looks wind-affected or feels dense.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2

    Recent westerly wind formed slabs above crust and surface hoar layers in alpine and treeline terrain.

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    The early December weak layer remains a concern in areas with a shallow snowpack, particularly on steep rocky slopes.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Two notable avalanches occurred in the Dogtooth Range on Saturday:

  • A skier was caught in a size 2.5 wind slab avalanche that propagated widely across a northeast-facing slope. It ran on a 5 to 40 cm deep surface hoar layer. See this MIN report for details.

  • A group of skiers remotely triggered a size 2.5 persistent slab avalanche on a large southwest-facing alpine slope.

Many smaller (size 1 to 1.5) wind slab avalanches were also reported across the Purcells.

Snowpack Summary

Surface snow is a mix of newly developed surface hoar and sun crust. Soft snow (10 to 30 cm) sits on a variety of interfaces including surface hoar in sheltered areas and sun crusts on solar slopes. Deeper wind-loaded pockets also exist above these layers.

A weak layer of facets buried in early December is on average 60 to 90 cm deep (except closer to 30 cm in the shallower eastern parts of the Purcells). This layer continues to cause occasional large avalanches in the Golden and Invermere areas.

The snowpack base consists of a thick crust and facets in many areas.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Clear skies. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Tuesday

Mostly sunny. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Wednesday

Partly cloudy. Isolated flurries,1 cm.10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Thursday

Partly cloudy. Isolated flurries 1 to 2 cm. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Use conservative route selection and resist venturing into complex terrain.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

Regions covered