Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 9th, 2026–Apr 12th, 2026

Alpine

Spring Conditions

Treeline

Spring Conditions

Below Treeline

Spring Conditions

Alpine

Spring Conditions

Treeline

Spring Conditions

Below Treeline

Spring Conditions

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Spring Conditions

Below Treeline

Spring Conditions

Regions

Kananaskis, Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, North 40, Spray - KLakes.

Spring is here! Early starts and early finishes are important as the Avalanche danger will increase throughout the day as conditions warm up.

Confidence

Avalanche Summary

A few loose wet avalanche's from steep solar aspects. No new slab avalanche activity.

Snowpack Summary

Crusts are the prominent layers in our changing snowpack. Thick, supportive surface crusts are up to 2500m on most aspects except true polar. Even polar aspects have crusts up to about 2200m. Beneath that are various other crusts that are helping hold it all together. With that said, the Mar 24 layer/interface is still evident and a potential failure plain on steep, high north country. Don't rule it out just yet.

Be sure to check the quality of the freeze overnight before you go! Stability will change throughout the day as the conditions warm up.

Weather Summary

Spring is here it feels like! Friday will be a beautiful day with a freezing level around 2600m, light winds, and clear skies.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.
Avoid steep, sun-exposed slopes when the air temperature is warm or when solar radiation is strong.
Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.