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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 8th, 2026–Mar 9th, 2026

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay, Banff, East Side 93N, Lake Louise, LLSA, Sunshine, West Side 93N, Field.

Up to 40 cm of storm snow and extreme winds initiated a natural avalanche cycle on Sunday. As temperatures cool and winds diminish, we expect natural avalanche activity to taper, but the possibility of human-triggered avalanches will remain likely.

Confidence

Avalanche Summary

Local ski hills reported newly formed, widespread touchy storm slabs and wind slabs on Sunday. A combination of natural, skier-triggered, and explosive-triggered avalanches up to size 2 were observed. We suspect this natural avalanche cycle will begin to taper on Monday, but human-triggered avalanches will remain likely.

Snowpack Summary

Upto 40cm of new snow has been redistributed by extreme SW winds, forming storm and windslabs at all elevations. The Jan 24 facet/crust layer is down 50-80 cm and producing variable moderate-hard sudden planar results with stability tests. The distribution of this layer is difficult to pin down, but it has been observed at all elevation bands. A thin temperature crust exists on the surface at lower elevations. The lower snowpack is generally strong.

Weather Summary

A cool air mass will move into the forecast region behind a passing front. Light precipitation and intermittent cloud cover will continue early this week, with up to 10 cm of snow possible by Tuesday. Freezing levels will remain near valley bottom, with moderate westerly ridge winds and more precipitation expected later this week.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully manage your exposure to overhead hazards.
  • Stay off recently wind loaded slopes until they have had a chance to stabilize.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.