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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 29th, 2026–Mar 30th, 2026

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Lizard-Flathead, Akamina, Flathead, Lizard.

Sunday night's storm will layer new surface instabilities over an otherwise stable snowpack. Tune into new snow amounts, wind loading, and daytime warming to stay on top of the hazard.

Confidence

Moderate

  • The snowpack structure is well understood.
  • We are uncertain about forecast snowfall amounts.

Avalanche Summary

There were only a couple of small avalanches in the Fernie area in the past few days. One was a 30 cm-deep skier-triggered storm slab on a north aspect and the other a small cornice failure that triggered a size 1 storm slab below an alpine ridgetop. Both occurred on Friday at 2100 m or higher and ran on the late-March crust. New snow followed by sunshine should revive surface instabilities for Monday.

If you are heading into the backcountry, post a MIN!

Snowpack Summary

5-10 cm of forecast snow (closer to 15 cm in the north of the region) will bury melt-freeze crust now found on solar aspects, or otherwise add to 10 to 20 cm of recent snow, previously affected by previous southwest wind. Reactive new slabs should form with the new snow, predominantly where snowfall is greatest.

The recent snow sits on a thick crust. Below it, up to 50 cm of rain soaked snow sits on another crust (1 to 10 cm thick) from early March.

Persistent weak layers may linger within the top 150 cm of the snowpack. These are unlikely to trigger in most areas as a result of the thick crust bridging over them.

The mid and lower snowpack is strong in most areas. Snowpack depth tapers rapidly at lower elevations.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night
Cloudy with continuing flurries bringing 5 to 10 cm of snow, closer to 15 cm in parts of the north of the region. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind, easing. Treeline temperature falling to -6 °C.

Monday
A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries and a trace of new snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Tuesday
Sunny. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature reaching -2 °C as freezing level climbs to 1800 m.

Wednesday
Initially sunny, becoming floudy with light flurries at end of day. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C with freezing level to 1900 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.