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Purcells

St. Mary

Purcells

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Mt Manson

Published: Mar 30th, 2026
Trip up Mt Manson. Lucked out with 20cm-30cm of new, light snow overnight which rested nicely on top of the thermal crust that had formed over the weekend. Some advantageous depositing in sheltered, low-angle areas in the alpine made for excellent, safe skiing! Started “early” from the cabin and reached the summit by noon. Cold morning with minimal winds (variable direction). Summited via the easy east ridge. The new snow was uniformely deposited below treeline, and unevenly distributed in the alpine. Things felt safe except the new snow was willing to move when unsupported at a kickturn, sliding underfoot on the crust at the steepest part of the ridge (~33 deg.). The ~10-25cm of new snow provided our only means of (sometimes precarious) purchase on the icy crust on the ridge. No propagation, and overall the storm snow was unconsolidated and loose where we were. Avoided the big open slopes to the climbers left for fear of cross-loading and convexities, as well as the cornice big scaries to the right. Skied down in and adjacent to the skin track along the ridge, then enjoyed the series of low angle ramps and gullies back down to the valley. No signs of instability, though multiple small sloughs and storm slabs were naturally releasing on an alpine slope below a steep south facing cliff feature (visible in photo). The crust(s) could be felt on wind scoured features in the alpine, and everything below treeline.

Quick Report

Published: Mar 27th, 2026
Nice day for a day in the East Purcells. Snow line is creeping up, and roads are melting out quickly. Above 1500m, 10-20cm new snow overlies the March 24 crust, which extends to ridge top and is ~5-10cm thick. Small wind slabs at TL and above in immediate lees, and wind affected snow in open areas. Windward slopes are scoured back to the crust in open areas. Uptracking was a bit challenging on the crust, and ski crampons would be helpful. Ski quality was pretty good in sheltered BTL! Dry snow was holding, even in the afternoon, except on true S aspects. No new avalanches, but evidence of widespread natural cycle from during the rain - see photo for example. Watch out for frozen debris!

It's still down there

Published: Mar 13th, 2026
We went hunting south of the lake for info on the January weak layer that doesn't want to go away. We didn't notice any signs of instability on the sled in or our skin up, it was only when we dug a pit that we found something. The layer of concern was buried 140 cm deep in this spot and it still failed in tests (Deep tap test hard sudden planar). With the amount of snow above it, including a 6 cm thick crust, we thought triggering it would be unlikely.... but if triggered it'd be a scary large avalanche. So we stuck to mellow terrain and avoided being underneath large slopes and had great sledding and skiing. The recent rain crust was buried 40 cm deep, we couldn't feel it on skis, but it was a bit grabby and slippery on the sled.

Lindsay Col

Published: Mar 10th, 2026
Pleasantly surprised with conditions. Travel was between 1800m and 2550m. HST was 10cm down low and 20cm at higher elevations. No signs of instabilities. Some wind occurring and snow is stacking.

Boulder Hut - Come together slide

Published: Mar 8th, 2026
The tree skiing around the hut is a war zone!

Rocky 2 no go

Published: Mar 5th, 2026
CTH23 down 30. CTH 27 down 150. Chose not to entertain the risk.

Quick Report

Published: Mar 1st, 2026
Beauty day to be out, checking on the home zone. The wind last week built new cornices and formed wind slabs at TL on E aspects. Wind effect extends well below tree line, and there were several trees down on the road in. ~10cm of new snow, less than reported further West. Ski quality was good in sheltered, low angle terrain, on E-NE aspects. Surface snow was becoming moist in the sun, and we saw numerous small wet loose avalanches from steep South facing terrain.

Sketchy as can be

Published: Mar 1st, 2026

Sanca Creek near Haystack

Published: Mar 1st, 2026
Most of the settling I felt was down in the trees. Didn’t feel as much settling up high, probably because all the new snow up high has blown away.

Wet Boots

Published: Feb 27th, 2026
Spent the day trying to access skiing on the south side of the St. Mary’s River Road. Creek crossings were open and running up to 1550m, which produced a shorter day for us as one of our party experienced the mother of all soakers while trying to cross and ended up having to pour creek water out of their boots. Road beds were producing multiple large whumpfs and +10m shooting cracks. We had very high winds and fresh snow, though minimal snow appeared to be accumulating on the ground.

Quick Report

Published: Feb 20th, 2026
Beauty day, and great riding conditions, but very touchy persistent slab developing. We skied one run in low-angle, supported terrain, then went for a nice walk before returning to the sleds. See other tabs for more detailed observations.

Be Careful Where You Touch Mary

Published: Feb 19th, 2026
Skied N and West aspects between 2400m and 1850m south of the Mary. Besides the deep trail breaking and excellent ski conditions my two take aways were: 1. Steep open terrain below 2050m was extremely touchy with multiple remote fractures and large propagations approx. 50-60cm deep on the old crust; and, 2. Some regularly performing avalanche paths had not slid recently so there is definitely overhead hazard lingering. Stability seemed to improve as we gained elevation. Winds were light SW and about 3cm fell during the day.

Serendipity

Published: Feb 18th, 2026
Spent 3 days in Serendipity Bowl. Monday lunch - Tuesday morning we measured 20cms of fresh snow at 1850m. With Tuesday temps at that altitude 0. 40cms at 2300m. Temperatures dropped Tuesday night into Wednesday. Very light winds, and no signs of wind at ridge top. Great riding conditions. A large avalanche cycle had occurred a day or more before our arrival. One small slide occurred overnight on Monday, and then we triggered a small one on a convex slope Tuesday pm.

Muy Caliente!

Published: Feb 17th, 2026

Sketchy

Published: Feb 14th, 2026
40 cms of fresh at 2100 meters up fiddler, but hardly any on the trail in. Extremely unstable, small slopes on the side of the trail were sliding as we rode towards them. There is great possibility of remote triggering anything steep enough to slide.

Moguls on the Meachan road

Published: Feb 8th, 2026
Decent skiing! Supportive crust allowing for ski traffic on steep west facing BTL features with 50-80cm HS. East aspect 150-230cm. Recent snow has been redistributed by light west winds and warm temps yesterday into a low density 5-20cm slab on old surfaces. Where surface hoar is present and the feature is connected it is reactive to ski cuts, mostly at ridge top. Travelling fast but stopping in the track. Some evidence of old natural activity in extreme terrain on east aspects TL&BTL. Up to size 2, suspect 3-4 days old. Most painful part of the day is letting the sled cool off… roads remained frozen all day.

Warm, sunny, no slabs

Published: Feb 4th, 2026
Today we went out south of the lake. After battling through a solid surface refreeze we popped up to 2000 m where it was already +5 at 10am. Skinng up, we were expecting to find a spicy surface hoar problem, but with only 5 cm over top there wasn't enough slab to be a concern. The sun was warming up steep slopes causing some roller balls, and making the snow heavy on lower angle slopes. North facing terrain stayed dry and soft which made for excellent riding.

It Didn't Suck Today

Published: Feb 2nd, 2026
Excellent riding above 1700m. Even better at 2000m. Probably the most shooting cracks in a day I've ever seen. 20-30cm of storm snow sits on 2-3cms of hoarfrost, which is then on a 2-3cm rain crust. It seemed extremely reactive, and the storm snow showed a lot of slab properties. Very touchy layers on top so we kept it very mellow. Great riding and good condition if you suffer the firm roads in. Fingers crossed it doesn't warm up too much.

Quick Report

Published: Feb 1st, 2026
Observations from skiing in uncompacted terrain near Kimberley resort on Feb 1. We travelled between 1500-1800 m and found an average snowpack depth ranging from 60-90 cm, deeper on North and East aspects. In thinner areas, snow was moist to ground, and the crust formed in mid-January was no longer supporting skiers. Wet snow observed at lower elevations (<1600m). On shaded aspects / deeper snow areas, the top 5 cm of new snow was moist, and the crust still had enough integrity to support a skier's weight. The day was warm and wet, above freezing temps at all elevations we travelled, but still snowing lightly above 1600 m. Winds were light gusting to moderate from the SW, but blowing snow was limited by the high density surface snow, or surface crust present in most areas. Pretty spring-like conditions out there at the moment!

Na Sz 3.5 white creek

Published: Jan 14th, 2026

Lindsay Meadows

Published: Jan 9th, 2026
We travelled between 1800 and 2300m. Not much vis out there today. Quite blustery at treeline and above. Some old debris in multiple spots coming off steep/extreme terrain N aspect. Ski pen was 30cm+. No whumpfing or cracking during up hill travel. We managed to ski cut a windslab quite easily on convex roll. Nice and fluffy in them hills right now.

Saint Mary

Published: Jan 8th, 2026
So I was thinking about posting a MIN but then I read the bulletin and I am now wondering if I am either blind, or just completely oblivious to my surroundings, or maybe just lucky enough to be skiing a couple days in a uniquely stable zone. I was south of St Mary Lake both Monday and today. In between those days 20cm new at about 1850 and 35+ above 2100 m as our old tracks were completely non existent. Light winds both days, SW Monday and E today. Natural avalanches limited to sz 1 or small 2 sluffs out of extreme terrain/cornice failure. Storm slab non existent (Monday) or kinda present (today) but not a visually prevalent problem and a moderate hand shear at best (50cm deep but planer). So I’ve been mindful of overhead hazard and shoulder checking after cresting steep rolls, but otherwise feeling like it’s the best mid January snowpack in a decade or more. 300cm at 2200m today. The next valley over might be a different story but there you go.

Deep & Windy

Published: Jan 6th, 2026
Wicked deep and blower day. Snowpack at 1900m was 240cm. Stiff moderate Southwest-ish winds to valley bottom. Quite a bit of wind effect and leeward loading at all elevations except protected slopes. Our tracks in filled in significantly over two hours from storm snow and wind, even in dense trees. Ice on lakes is still super thin.

Blue bird

Published: Dec 26th, 2025
Crust from Christmas Eve rain below 1900m above there skiing was good and Snow pack was well consolidated. No signs of instability alpine looked windy.

Gray Creek Pass - Boxing day

Published: Dec 26th, 2025

Gray Creek Pass

Published: Dec 23rd, 2025
Dug a “No Excuse Block” (similar to a Rutsch block) at 2150m on an East facing, 30 degree slope. Block failed 20 cm deep on a wind layer when stepping on the block (a “2” result). The Dec 16th rain crust was 40 cm deep and appears to be well bonded at this location (could not get it to fail on that layer). Total snow depth was 160cm. We skied planar, we’ll supported slopes and the ski quality was excellent.

Pow!

Published: Dec 20th, 2025
Conditions were firing! Increasing accumulation of new snow as we moved higher up and further NE. Some difficulty putting in the road to the ridge due to so much new snow! **(Trees down on last push to the top - chainsaw needed)**. Road wasn’t plowed beyond St Mary’s valley bottom. Skied NE and SW trees. Ridge was windblown with moderately stiff snow, but no wind effect noticed on either side once in the trees. However, wind lips and drifts were present in the trees on the SW slope, but they were covered in the fresh snow. Noticeably more accumulation of snow on the lee/northeast slope. Probed a 3m snow depth at the bottom of our NE aspect run, at ~2050m. Seemed decent! Some whoomphs and settling noted while sledding up/putting in the road. No instabilities while skiing, though some sloughing occurred at the bottom of the NE We saw where small slabs had released in steep NE terrain below and adjacent to cliffy areas (second photo). All round great day and great crew!

Fireguard

Published: Mar 18th, 2024
Ventured out to the fireguard ridge without much intention to ski. Dug a pit on north aspect - ECTH22 and CTH28 down around 115cm, nonplanar breaks on facets. Did not ski the north aspect, just a brief descent back down to the sleds in the sun. Few avalanches observed - all point releases/pinwheels.

Spicy White Boar

Published: Mar 13th, 2024

Fire Guard

Published: Mar 6th, 2024
Wet surface snow observed on south aspects. Found dry powder on northerly aspects. Large slide observed to the south, maybe cornice triggered. Lots of whumfing heard on Sunday but none today. Stuck to mellow terrain and didn’t notice any signs of instability.

Powder out there if you look for it

Published: Feb 24th, 2024

Quality Purcell pow

Published: Feb 9th, 2024
Conditions we saw aligned with SHorton's report from Friday. 20cm midweight powder on bombproof rain crust. Variable breakable sun crust on S aspects. Wind at high elevations but snow was not effected on our line. Lots of folks out enjoying the weather

A sunny day out on the skis

Published: Feb 10th, 2024
We found very similar conditions to the other reports in the area from the last few days. 20-30cm of soft snow on top of crust. New snow seemed well bonded. Cornices on ridge top, and saw some wind depositing throughout the day in the alpine but we were down at treeline.

Last dance with St Mary's jane

Published: Feb 10th, 2024
Final day of our field trip was a quick poke into the alpine on Bootleg. Surface conditions were similar to the last few days with 20 cm of soft powder on the solid rain crust, and a thinner breakable crust at the surface on solar aspects. Ridgetop winds were gusty, but only moving a tiny bit of snow around. No significant snowpack test results, signs of instability, or recent avalanches.

No wind cries Mary

Published: Feb 9th, 2024
No wind effect in the alpine and 20 to 30 cm of soft snow on a bomber crust. Surface crusts exist on steeper south (and some southeast/southwest) facing slopes, but the riding is decent if you can pick aspects that avoid them. No recent avalanches (except for the pine marten's one in the photo). Lots of evidence of the widespread avalanche cycle from last week, which seemed to only produce wet loose avalanches (no slabs). Some were fairly large and potentially covering access roads.

Gray Creek Pass

Published: Feb 3rd, 2024
5cm of new snow on a very hard supportive crust above 2000m. This crust will likely become a dangerous sliding layer when significant new snow arrives. Below about 1800m the snowpack is still isothermal glop.

Few days in the Purcells

Published: Jan 18th, 2024
Trip to check on conditions. Snowpack thin - 100-110cm. Lots of sharks waiting just under the surface. Beautiful dry powder about 30cm ski pen. No wind slabs or consolidation in the entire snowpack

Getting warmer…

Published: Jan 20th, 2024
Warming each day over the last 3d. Today still powder but heavier. Temps just above and below 0. Still good skiing and less ski pen so fewer snow sharks. No signs of reactivity.

Mode’s Canyon AST1

Published: Jan 18th, 2024
20cm new snow Snow height 80cm December crust 60cm deep

Opportunistic Snow Profile

Published: Jan 2nd, 2024
Opportunistic snow profile observation at approx. 1,700 m. December rain crust observed at ~40 cm, maintaining strength. Medium slab cohesion above.

Wintery alpine!

Published: Jan 1st, 2024
A bit of work with through thin and crusty snow below 1900 m, but conditions above are still in pretty good shape. Soft surfaces on most shaded aspects, and crusts on steep south. Some minor wind affect in the alpine and some cracking around skis (5 cm thick cookies). Otherwise no signs of instability or recent avalanches.

Denver Crk

Published: Nov 23rd, 2023
Not much accumulation up high. Didn’t bother to pull skins. HS 45 @ 2290m. Of note, active logging on Bootleg fsr.

South Rockies

Published: Nov 26th, 2023
Widespread large surface hoar at lower elevations 1800-2100 metres. Especially prominent in valley bottoms. It was melting out on solar exposed slopes but will be something to watch out for as we get more snow. Still low tide out there

Bootleg Storm Slab

Published: Apr 5th, 2023

Storm snow hasn't settled as well as hoped. Multiple recent point releases and several size 1 slabs from wind-loading near the ridge. Did not run far or step down. There were minimal signs of instability (1 X whumpf) during travel but a hasty pit gave us concerning results. ECTP 4 with planar character. 40cm of storm snow is sitting on a 1.5cm sun / melt freeze crust at approx 2300m SE facing slope. HS 200cm. Stuck to mellow lines. Polar aspects may be better without the presence of the crust beneath the recent snow? Sadly time didn't permit travel to different aspect.

NE ridge bootleg

Published: Apr 5th, 2023

ECT showed fracture propagation on 3 taps - about 40cm down - seemed to be new/wind transport snow sliding on sun crust.

Mt Evans approach

Published: Apr 4th, 2023

The FSR has been obstructed by recent wet slab avalanches between size 0.5-2. It seemed like these originated from the rocky cliffs above the trail. We skinned on from there cautiously and stayed away from the sunny southern aspect. A firm sun crust was found on all solar aspects and new snow (about 5 cm) slid on this crust easily.

Sawtooth Crk

Published: Mar 22nd, 2023

Warm day in the alpine. Saw nothing move, but evidence of slabs releasing in steep rocky terrain on all aspects. Probed 300+ at test site. Coverage varied a lot depending on elevation and aspect. Lots of wind effect up high. Dug down 1m, CTM11 down 35cm on crust prior to last storm, CTM15 down 50cm. A non reactive layer @70cm. 4 cm melt freeze made for good travel until it melted. Real soft in valley by end of day.

Some big ones have gone

Published: Mar 4th, 2023

Major crown on north aspect. Unclear how recent. Photo taken from 3-4 kilometres away with an iPhone so it says something about the crown depth. Sun is definitely starting to pack a punch on solar aspects

Murffy Pass

Published: Mar 1st, 2023

Wint to Murfy pass for a snow observation / big thk to the boys front of me breacking the first part of the trail good job!! 2400m : HS 260cm / gusty wind from S-SW with transportation / pit to 160cm deep gradient temp a bit more then 1 degree by 10cm/ slope angle snow profile 36 degree CTM 13 rp @ 100cm down old surface hoar / CTM 17 rp @ 100cm down old surface hoar ....... be safe up there seems to be very touchy....

Matthew Crk

Published: Feb 25th, 2023

Probed at 1960m, HS 140 with a good crust at 50cm down. Supportive skiing due to crust. Slippery suncrust under storm snow on S facing aspects.
Spring Conditions
Spring Conditions
Spring Conditions

Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 27th, 2026
Current
Low
Low
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 24th, 2026
Archived
Low
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 23rd, 2026
Archived
Low
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 22nd, 2026
Archived
Considerable
Moderate
Low

Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 21st, 2026
Archived
Considerable
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Moderate

Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 20th, 2026
Archived
Considerable
Considerable
Moderate

Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 19th, 2026
Archived
Considerable
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Moderate

Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 18th, 2026
Archived
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 17th, 2026
Archived
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 16th, 2026
Archived
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 15th, 2026
Archived
Considerable
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 15th, 2026
Archived
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Moderate
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 14th, 2026
Archived
Moderate
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 13th, 2026
Archived
Low
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 12th, 2026
Archived
Moderate
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 11th, 2026
Archived
Moderate
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 10th, 2026
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Moderate
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 9th, 2026
Archived
Low
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 8th, 2026
Archived
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 7th, 2026
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Low
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 6th, 2026
Archived
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 5th, 2026
Archived
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 4th, 2026
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 3rd, 2026
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 2nd, 2026
Archived
Moderate
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Apr 1st, 2026
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Moderate
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Mar 31st, 2026
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Moderate
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Low

Avalanche Forecast

Published: Mar 30th, 2026
Archived
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Avalanche Forecast

Published: Mar 29th, 2026
Archived
Moderate
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Low

Avalanche Forecast

Published: Mar 29th, 2026
Archived
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