Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 16th, 2026–Apr 17th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

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

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

Up to 40cm of snow came in by Thursday morning. Polar aspects are holding dry snow & solar aspects are settling rapidly the moment the sun hits them. Still great coverage and travel for this time of year.

Confidence

Avalanche Summary

Only minor loosed dry avalanches were seen today. These sorted themselves out and stopped by midday.

Snowpack Summary

Variable amounts of storm snow in the past 48 hours. As of this afternoon treeline polar aspects had 40cm, while treeline solar aspects had 20cm settled snow. Overall valley bottom has 10cm of settled, moist snow by 3pm today. North winds today managed to reverse load some ridgeline areas, but nothing crazy. Immediate lees had small fresh windslabs with minor cracking.

Weather Summary

We may see some flurries overnight, but nothing significant precipitation wise in the next few days. Mostly cloudy tomorrow with a daytime high of -3, light winds and some solar effect sneaking through the cloud cover.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be especially cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
Pay attention to isolated wind affected features in the alpine, as well as cross-loaded features at treeline.

Problems

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.