Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 15th, 2026–Apr 16th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Spring Conditions

Below Treeline

Spring Conditions

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Spring Conditions

Below Treeline

Spring Conditions

Alpine

Spring Conditions

Treeline

Spring Conditions

Below Treeline

Spring Conditions

Regions

Jasper, Brazeau, Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.

Ski conditions are generally excellent, with 15cm of new snow over the past two days. Watch for isolated pockets of wind slab in the alpine and pay attention to the sun; as slopes begin to warm, fresh or wet snow are likely to sluff.

Confidence

Avalanche Summary

A size two slab avalanche was observed below the Athabasca Silverhorn on Wednesday morning, age is uncertain.

On Monday, our field team observed a cornice failure near Snowdome.

Snowpack Summary

Fifteen centimeters of recent storm snow are sitting on preserved dry snow in the high North and a variety of melt forms on solar slopes and at lower elevations. Below 2300m, multiple melt-freeze crusts are layered in the snowpack.

The January 24th layer is buried 80–120 cm deep and remains a lingering concern in the alpine. The lower snowpack is generally well consolidated in deeper areas, while shallow areas remain weaker and more faceted.

Weather Summary

Clouds will break on Thursday with isolated flurries while the low-pressure tracks south and cooler air moves in. At 2200m, expect -5 °C as a high while the freezing level sits at 1600m. Winds will be light and shifting to the North.

Skies will slowly clear into the weekend, at the same time temperatures and freezing levels begin to rise.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid sun-exposed slopes, especially if the snow surface is moist or wet.
Avoid freshly wind-loaded features, especially near ridge crests, rollovers, and in steep terrain.

Problems

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.

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.