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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 27th, 2026–Jan 29th, 2026

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.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis, Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, North 40, Spray - KLakes.

Cooler temperatures this past week have faceted out the upper snowpack making a bit of "Rockies facetted-powder". Variable areas of thick to thin, especially in steep areas we still continue to avoid, especially where the upper snowpack is stiff and hard due to winds earlier in the month.

Confidence

High

  • We are confident due to a stable weather pattern.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been observed or reported in a few days.

Snowpack Summary

Cooler temperatures have begun to facet out the upper snowpack and improving the skiing quality a little bit. The main concern is triggering the deep weak basal layers from a thin or variable snow pack areas. The skiing in general is somewhat variable out there right now. Northern aspects are providing the best skiing opportunities but don't expect a smooth ride. Be on guard for isolated wind affect also some crusts from the warm temperatures earlier in January. Solar aspects are even a bit more variable with the presence of a more robust melt freeze crust... down 5-10cm.

A new SH layer was recently buried down only 5-10cm as high as 2500m. While not much of an issue yet, as more snow arrives, and this layer becomes more buried, it will become a concern within the snowpack.

Weather Summary

Mix of sun and cloud, moderate westerly winds and day time highs around -7C is the forecast for Wednesday. One forecast shows snow starting on Friday! Not a lot but some!

https://hpfx.collab.science.gc.ca/~fsg006/productviewer/ab/table/AB_Rockies_Forecast.html

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid thin areas like rocky outcrops where you're most likely to trigger avalanches on deep weak layers.

Problems

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.