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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 27th, 2025–Mar 28th, 2025

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

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

There is uncertainty with the speed of recovery of the snowpack. Maintain conservative terrain choices.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, numerous natural wet loose avalanches were observed to size 2.

Large natural persistent slab avalanches have run on buried weak layers in recent days. A size 3 was observed near Castle on Wednesday, and the Field Team reported a size 2.5 in the Crowsnest area on Wednesday.

Read the Forecaster Blog for an opportunity to reflect on this week's widespread avalanche activity.

Snowpack Summary

Roughly 5 to 10 cm of storm snow will bury a breakable surface crust that can be found on most aspects and elevations, which becomes more supportive as you gain elevation.

The upper snowpack remains moist over a generally settled mid-pack that sits on a persistent weak layer of surface hoar or facets from late January buried 70 to 120 cm deep.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries, 2 to 3 cm. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level falling to 1300 m.

Friday

Cloudy with scattered flurries, 5 to 8 cm. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries,1 to 2 cm. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Sunday

Partly cloudy with isolated flurries. 1 to 2 cm. 10 to 20 km/h variable wind. Treeline temperatures 0 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.

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.