Purcells

25-35 cm of new snow and strong southwesterly winds Saturday night formed widespread reactive storm slabs at all elevations. Human triggering of large storm slab avalanches continues to be likely on Monday.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy / Moderate, west ridgetop wind / alpine low temperature -11 / Freezing level valley bottom.

MONDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries; 0-3 cm. / Strong, southwest ridgetop wind / alpine high temperature -6 / Freezing level 1000 m.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy / Moderate, southwest ridgetop wind / alpine high temperature -6 / Freezing level 1000 m.

WEDNESDAY: Cloudy / Strong, southwest ridgetop wind / alpine high temperature -5 / Freezing level 1200 m.

Several natural and skier triggered storm slab avalanches up to size 2 were reported on Saturday.

On Thursday, a ski cut resulted in a size 2 persistent slab avalanche on a northeast aspect in the alpine near Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. MIN report HERE.

A skier triggered avalanche was reported in the Golden area on Wednesday. Check out the MIN report HERE. 

These recent avalanches are a reminder that when persistent slabs are the problem; conservative terrain choices are the answer.

25-35 cm. of new snow, strong southwest winds and mild temperatures have formed widespread reactive storm slabs at all elevations.

There are currently several layers of concern in much of this region's snowpack. The recent 40-50 cm of snow has buried yet another layer weak layer of surface hoar that was reported in the golden area. The mid December surface hoar is down 90-130 cm. Although there have been no new reports of avalanches on this layer in the last few days, it remains possible to human trigger where it is well preserved. There may also be a crust near or instead of this layer in some areas.

The lower snowpack is characterized by more crusts, the most notable is a rain crust from early November that is sitting near the base of the snowpack, surrounded by a weak layer of sugary facets. It is most likely to be reactive to human triggers in steep, shallow, rocky areas with a thin to thick snowpack.

• Uncertainty is best managed through conservative terrain choices at this time.
• If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
• Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of buried persistent weak layers.
• Remote triggering is a concern, watch out for adjacent and overhead slopes.
• Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.