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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 8th, 2026–Apr 9th, 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, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

South Rockies, Bull, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West.

Avalanche danger is generally low. However, large avalanches are possible on shaded alpine slopes.

Scroll down to the avalanche summary section to see the type of terrain to avoid.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain about how quickly persistent slabs are gaining strength.

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, our field team spotted large (size 2.5) persistent slab avalanche triggered by a cornice fall on Window Mountain. It likely occurred on Tuesday. See photo below.

On Sunday, a very large persistent slab avalanche released naturally near Crowsnest Pass. See the photos for more information.

Snowpack Summary

Expect to find a hard crust on the surface up to 2100 m, and right up to mountaintops in steep terrain facing the sun.

Steep terrain facing the sun also has the potential to have loose wet surface snow in the heat of the afternoon. Right now we've had overnight temperatures that promote a nightly refreeze, so any moist or wet snow is not expected to be very deep.

Weak sugary snow above a crust from late March is buried about 50 to 70 cm deep.

Below this, the snowpack is generally well consolidated. However, facets exist at the base of the snowpack in shallow areas near Elkford.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Clear skies. 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind decreasing to 10 km/h by the morning. Treeline low -6 °C. Freezing level falling to valley bottom.

Thursday

Mostly sunny. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline high 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 2350 m.

Friday

Sunny. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 2200 m.

Saturday

Mostly sunny. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 5 °C. Freezing level 3000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Triggering deep layers is more likely if the snow surface didn't freeze overnight.
  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
  • Avoid exposure to overhead hazards when solar radiation is strong.
  • Avalanches could start at higher elevations and travel into below treeline terrain.

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.