Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 8th, 2025–Mar 9th, 2025

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

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

If forecasts hold true, we are expecting another round of snow and unfortunately high avalanche hazard. For Sunday, pay attention to changing conditions and be prepared to change plans.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Nothing in our immediate region today, but travel was limited. A flight in the Ghost area did have a small slab release at the bottom of Hydrophobia. Lots of wind out there today.

Snowpack Summary

Winds have built new windslabs at alpine elevations. Expect to find them on all easterly aspects and extending down into treeline. The slabs are resting on a variety of surfaces, which includes old wind slab, isolated crusts on steep solar, and of course facets. Once again, we find ourselves questioning the bond quality between the existing slabs and the old snow. At treeline and below, travel is still tedious with deep trail breaking. Another general comment would be despite the warm weather, spring is a long way off in our snowpack. Its very much winter above 1900m.

Of note, during a flight over the Ghost region today we saw lots of wind loading in gullies above climbs. A surprising amount of snow out there today.

Weather Summary

Snow! Sort of. Snow starting tonight at midnight, with 10cm by early evening tomorrow. The snow continues into Monday with a total of 21cm expected. Sunday's winds will be light from the west in Valley Bottom, but 50-60km/hr at peak height. Gusts are also expected. Overall it seems like a blustery day for tomorrow. Day time high of -2°.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Keep in mind that human triggering may persist as natural avalanches taper off.
Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.

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.

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.