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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 8th, 2026–Mar 9th, 2026

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

Regions

Little Yoho, Kootenay.

Up to 40 cm of storm snow and extreme winds initiated a natural avalanche cycle on Sunday. As temperatures cool and winds diminish, we expect natural avalanche activity to taper, but the possibility of human-triggered avalanches will remain likely.

Confidence

Avalanche Summary

Local ski hills reported newly formed, widespread touchy storm slabs and wind slabs on Sunday. A combination of natural, skier-triggered, and explosive-triggered avalanches up to size 2 were observed. We suspect this natural avalanche cycle will begin to taper on Monday, but human-triggered avalanches will remain likely.

Snowpack Summary

Upto 40cm of new snow has been redistributed by extreme SW winds, forming storm and windslabs at all elevations. The Jan 24 persistent layer (surface hoar/crust/facet) is down 60-100 cm and remains reactive, producing variable results in the mod to hard range. This layer is most prominent at treeline and below, but concern for southerly aspects in the alpine also exists. We expect this problem to exist for the foreseeable future.

Weather Summary

A cool air mass will move into the forecast region behind a passing front. Light precipitation and intermittent cloud cover will continue early this week, with up to 10 cm of snow possible by Tuesday. Freezing levels will remain near valley bottom, with moderate westerly ridge winds and more precipitation expected later this week.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully manage your exposure to overhead hazards.
  • Stay off recently wind loaded slopes until they have had a chance to stabilize.
  • Be aware of the potential for remote triggering and large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.

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.

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.