Avalanche forecast

South Rockies

Mar 11 – 12, 2025Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Assess bond of new snow to underlying surfaces. Take extra caution when transitioning into wind affected terrain.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    New snow arrives with moderate to strong southwest winds. Old wind slabs exist beneath the new snow

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1.5–3

    The persistent weak layer has recently produced several large to very large avalanches. It remains a concern where there is no thick, supportive crust near the surface.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported, but snowpack tests done by our field team east of Elkford suggest that the persistent weak layer may still be triggerable by humans.

Avalanches on buried weak layers may be difficult to trigger, but if one is triggered, it is likely to be large and destructive.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 10 cm of new snow is being redistributed by strong southwest winds. Below 1900 m, and on solar aspects, this sits on a surface crust from recent sun and warming.

At treeline and above, the new snow falls on 5 to 10 cm of snow that has been redistributed by predominantly southwest wind.

The main feature of the region's overall shallow snowpack is a persistent weak layer of surface hoar or facets from late January now buried 40 to 80 cm deep.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Mainly cloudy, with up to 5 cm of new snow. 20 to 45 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Wednesday

Mainly cloudy, with up to 8 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

Thursday

Mainly cloudy, with up to 15 cm of snow. 20 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C.

Friday

Mainly cloudy, with up to 3 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and have produced recent large avalanches.

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