Avalanche Forecast
Purcells
New snow and strong winds Friday night will continue to build wind slabs at treeline and above. The new snow may bond poorly to the underlying crust. Watch for sluffing in steep terrain and loose, wet releases on sunny slopes.
Avalanche Problem 1: Wind Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Sluffs may be easy to trigger in steep terrain that is sheltered from the wind
- Be very careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
Avalanche Problem 2: Loose Wet
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Warming temperatures and a bit of sun may destabilize the snow surface and initiate loose wet avalanche activity, especially on steep south facing features. The likelihood of cornice failures also increases with sun and warming.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Cornices become weak with daytime heating, give them a wide berth when traveling above or below.
- Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where loose avalanches may have severe consequences.
- Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet.
Avalanche Summary
Wednesday there was a report of an icefall-triggered size 1.5 wind slab (50 cm deep and 50 m wide) on a north aspect at 2400 m, as well as small, loose wet sloughs out of steep rocky alpine terrain.
On Tuesday a skier intentionally triggered a size 1 wind slab 20 cm in depth on an east facing feature at 2400 m. Explosive control work produced numerous avalanches to size 2.5 in north-facing, lee terrain.
On Monday intense wind loading produced natural wind slab avalanches to size 2 on north facing terrain around 2400 m. Solar radiation (direct sun) also produced natural storm slab and loose wet avalanches to size 2.5 on on a variety of aspects between 1700 and 2600 m.
We received the following information second hand, and all the details may not be accurate. On Sunday six riders were involved in an avalanche up Doctor Creek. One was stuck, the second went to help and also got stuck, the third rode up the slope to help and triggered an avalanche that buried all three, "up to their faces." The riders credit airbag packs with saving their lives and although one sled was wrecked, the group was able to extricate themselves. The slope was reportedly north facing and failed as a wet slab.
Snowpack Summary
A thin surface crust is now present on all aspects to at least 2000 m. This crust likely goes even higher on south facing aspects, while 5-25 cm of cold snow can be found on high elevation north facing features.
There are now a few different crusts within the top 40 cm of the snowpack, with only the mostly recently buried crust posing a concern in wind-loaded areas.
There is some lingering concern around the mid-March Persistent Weak Layer (PWL) in the alpine where it is found 40 to 90 cm below the surface. This buried crust/surface hoar interface was widely reactive last week, but has not produced any avalanche activity in the last few days. It is likely trending towards dormancy, but we need to keep it in the back of our minds as it is capable of producing large avalanches should it be triggered (think step-down from a surface avalanche or cornice collapse)
Deeper persistent weak layers from December and January are dormant at this time.
Weather Forecast
TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy, flurries. Accumulation 5-15 cm. Ridge wind strong to extreme, southwest. Alpine temperature near -5. Freezing level 1200 m.
SATURDAY: Mainly cloudy, flurries. Accumulation up to 5 cm. Ridge wind strong easing to moderate, southwest. Alpine temperature near -5. Freezing level 1700 m.
SUNDAY: Cloudy, flurries. Accumulation 4-8 cm. Ridge wind light to moderate, southwest. Alpine temperature near -5. Freezing level 1700 m.
MONDAY: Cloudy, flurries. Accumulation 5-10 cm. Ridge wind light, east. Alpine temperature near -5. Freezing level 1500 m.
Avalanche Forecasts in your Inbox
Avalanche Canada has switched to an RSS feed for its daily forecasts. This is a much more flexible method that allows automatic delivery to your email inbox, or to an RSS reader of your choice.
What are RSS feeds?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a popular standardized file format allowing up-to-date delivery of web-based content. RSS feeds enable you to receive content updates from websites, delivered to your email through an RSS aggregator (such as blogtrottr.com) or viewed through applications called RSS readers (such as feedly.com).
Set up an RSS feed for your email:
Select a RSS aggregator
- Purcells URL:
http://www.avalanche.ca/api/forecasts/purcells.rss - Copy the url and paste it into the appropriate field of your RSS aggregator.
- Fill in your email address.
- Voila! Watch the Avalanche Canada forecast roll into your inbox.
Forecast Disclaimer
Avalanche Canada's Public Avalanche Bulletin, and other information and services provided by Avalanche Canada, are intended for personal and recreational purposes only.
**THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND IN NO EVENT SHALL THE PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES RESULTING FROM DISCOMFORT, INJURY, OR DEATH, CLAIMS BY THIRD PARTIES OR FOR OTHER SIMILAR COSTS, OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE INFORMATION.**
The user acknowledges that it is impossible to accurately predict natural events such as avalanches in every instance, and uses the data in this bulletin with this always foremost in mind. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and the Providers disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use the data.
Recent new snow and ongoing winds at ridgetop have formed wind slabs in leeward areas in the alpine and exposed treeline features. These will continue to build with more snow and strong southwest winds in the forecast.