Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 5th, 2026–Apr 6th, 2026

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.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

A buried weak layer exists and could produce large slab avalanches.
Choose conservative terrain in the alpine and avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Persistent slabs could become more likely with the forecast weather.

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday, numerous rider-triggered wet loose avalanches were reported, along with several that occurred naturally.

On Friday, a large (size 2.5) persistent slab was accidentally triggered in The Gorge near Elkford. The rider deployed an airbag and was found and extracted quickly by their riding partners. Read the full report here.

Snowpack Summary

A weak crust is expected to form Sunday night. Multiple crusts are in the upper snowpack on slopes that see the sun. There is likely a crust on all aspects below treeline, but not on shaded slopes at treeline and above.

A crust that formed after the atmospheric river in early March is down 50 to 70 cm, and weak facets have been observed over the crust.

Below this, the snowpack is generally well consolidated with facets at the base of the snowpack in shallow areas near Elkford.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level falling to 1500 m.

Monday
Mix of sun and clouds. 20 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 2 °C. Freezing level rising to 2900 m.

Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 4 to 5 mm of precipitation, starting as rain at treeline and turning to snow. 40 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level falling to 1500 m.

Wednesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

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.
Even brief periods of direct sun could produce natural avalanches.
Start your day early and be out of avalanche terrain during the heat of the day.

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.