Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 13th, 2026–Mar 14th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

North Rockies, Sugarbowl, East Kakwa, Kakwa, McGregor, Pine Pass, Renshaw, Robson, Tumbler.

Wind and visibility may have been keeping you out of the alpine, but you might find you weren't missing much if a window of opportunity opens. Stick to sheltered pow for the best, safest riding.

Confidence

High

We have a good understanding of the snowpack structure and confidence in the weather forecast.

Avalanche Summary

Thursday's reports mainly centered on dry loose sluffing, a shift from more pronounced wind slab triggering over the two days prior. Slabs were touchy to human triggering on north through west aspects in the alpine on Tuesday in the MacGregors, producing releases to size 2. Continuing wind loading kept that pattern active on Wednesday. There should still be some snow available to transport and keep wind slab concerns alive until warming shakes things up early next week.

Snowpack Summary

Up to about 40 cm of snow since March 7 overlies wind-affected old surfaces in the alpine and a crust that extends to ridgetop. Wind slab formation from easterly winds occurred with the earlier storm accumulations, now buried by either low density snow or more westerly wind transport. The crust becomes supportive at lower elevations and is 5 cm thick below 1400 m.

Another crust with faceted snow above, buried at treeline and below in February, is found around 100 to 160 cm deep. It's becoming well bonded to the surrounding snow and at lower elevations will be capped by more recent crust. Warming will test it again next week.

The remainder of the snowpack is well consolidated with no other layers of concern.

Weather Summary

Friday Night
Partly cloudy with isolated flurries and a trace of new snow. 15 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind, increasing. Treeline temperature -13 °C.

Saturday
A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries and a few cm of new snow, mainly in the south. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind, increasing. Treeline temperature -13 °C.

Sunday
A mix of sun and cloud, becoming cloudy with flurries bringing a few cm of new snow before increasing overnight. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind, shifting south and increasing. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Monday
Cloudy with continuing snowfall bringing 25 to 40 cm of new snow. 50 to 80 km/h southwest ridgetop wind, increasing. Treeline temperature reaching 1 or 2 °C as freezing level jumps to 2300 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been affected by wind.
Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.
Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.