Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 23rd, 2026–Jan 26th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

LOW avalanche hazard doesn't mean NO avalanche hazard.

Watch for thin weak areas where there is potential to trigger the deep persistent weakness. Skiing is challenging due to wind-pressed surfaces and crusts from the warm temperatures last week.

Confidence

High

We are confident due to a stable weather pattern.
The snowpack structure is well understood.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been observed or reported in a few days.

Snowpack Summary

Surface hoar continues to grow up to treeline elevation up to 10mm in size. Most of the terrain at treeline and above consists of a hard surface with either some re-crystalized snow or a thin wind crust on top of it. Solar aspects had a burly melt freeze crust in steeper areas from the warm temps last week.

Also of note, the tree bombs that fell last week have frozen hard and can make for some challenging skiing below treeline.

The November crust is deeply buried down 120--200cm and is more of a concern in thin/rocky snowpack areas.

Weather Summary

Temperatures around -10 on Saturday with a trace of snow in the forecast. Looks to be a cloudy day with mainly overcast conditions and moderate winds out of the north.

https://hpfx.collab.science.gc.ca/~fsg006/productviewer/ab/table/AB_Rockies_Forecast.html

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
Avoid steep terrain that is rocky and thin.
Avoid steep terrain, including convex rolls, or areas with a thin, rocky, or variable snowpack.

Problems

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.