Purcells

Fair - Wind speed or direction are uncertain on Saturday

Friday: Isolated flurries with overcast skies, winds light from the west. Alpine temperatures near -10.Saturday: Light precipitation, winds will be light west and northwest. Alpine temperatures will be near -10.Sunday: A weak ridge of high pressure should bring drier conditions with upper level temperatures remaining cool.

There was recent (Dec 26) report of a size 3 skier triggered avalanche in the Dogtooth range. Triggered from a thin area on a cross-loaded west facing feature at the upper end of the tree-line elevation, it then stepped down to the early November crust. There are no other observations to report at this time.

A wind event from last week formed relatively deep wind slabs in the alpine. New snow combined with wind has formed fresh wind slabs on the surface and/or buried newly formed surface hoar in sheltered, open areas at and below tree line. The mid-pack is reported to be settling well. Recent reports indicate the late November surface hoar (near the middle of the snowpack) and early November crust (near the base of the snowpack) have been mostly inactive as of late. It's important to note that professionals are still cautious about these lingering persistent slab problems, but the likelihood of triggering is low. Be wary of steep complex terrain with a shallow snowpack, where triggering a persistent weakness is more likely.