Purcells

Fair - Due to variable snowpack conditions

A firmly embedded ridge of high pressure over Alberta seems to be causing systems to fizzle once they reach the Columbia Mountains. Although there may be some sunny breaks on Saturday, conditions will be mostly cloudy for the forecast period with trace amounts of snowfall possible each day. Winds will be light and northwesterly with alpine temperatures trending from -7.0 on Saturday to -13.0 by Monday.

No new avalanches to report.

The snowpack is now generally well settled and riders are feeling increasingly confident in steeper terrain, particularly in areas with a deeper snowpack. Cooling has helped the snowpack to gain considerable strength since the warming last weekend and a crusts have now developed on slopes that saw direct sun. In the south of the region, it is thought that the January 13th surface hoar (buried about 40cm down) may still be reactive in isolated areas. Deep basal facets are widespread throughout the region. In most cases triggering is unlikely and would require a large trigger or a significant rise in temperature. Snowpack depths at 2000m sit at about 2m deep. If you're traveling around the mountains, it's a good time to take stock of current surface conditions (surface hoar/ crusts/ facets) that will become an issue once buried.