Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 7th, 2025–Mar 10th, 2025

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.

Regions

Waterton Lakes, Waterton.

Though we have gained more confidence in the snowpack in many areas, the potential remains for triggering a persistent slab avalanche in northerly alpine terrain, where the new crust is not capping over this weak layer.

With the high winds this weekend, the best skiing will likely be in sheltered areas at treeline and below.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed.

Snowpack Summary

New wind slabs up to 30 cm deep are forming in the alpine and at treeline, new snow remains unconsolidated in sheltered areas. This sits on a supportive melt freeze crust, which exists everywhere except for north facing alpine terrain. The January drought layer is down 40 - 100 cm. Depth of snow at treeline averages 130- 200 cm.

Weather Summary

Mild temperatures continue with increasing winds through the weekend. See table below.

Check out the Mountain Weather Forecast for the most up to date information.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Avoid thin areas like rocky outcrops where you're most likely to trigger avalanches on deep weak layers.

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.