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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 6th, 2025–Mar 7th, 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, human triggered possible.

Regions

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

Continue to choose simple, mellow terrain. Signs of buried weak layers may be hard to find.

Be especially cautious on high north-facing slopes, and steep slopes in the sun.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

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

Looking forward: 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

5-10 cm of recent snow covers a widespread melt-freeze crust up to 20 cm thick that exists at all elevations on slopes facing the sun, and on all aspects below treeline. Westerly winds formed slightly deeper, denser pockets in leeward terrain. These wind slabs are likely starting to bond to the crust below.

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 60 cm deep (see photo below). This layer was the cause of several avalanches last week.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Clear. 15 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Freezing level falling to valley bottom. Treeline low -7 °C.

Friday

Sunny. 40 to 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 2000 m. Treeline high 0 °C.

Saturday

Partly cloudy. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level falling to near valley bottom overnight, rising to 2000 m through the day.

Sunday

Partly cloudy with isolated flurries, up to 7 cm above 1500 m. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around 0 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • In times of uncertainty, conservative terrain choices are our best defense.
  • 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.

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.