Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 27th, 2026–Mar 28th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

Invest some time and inspect the March 24th crust as you travel. We're noticing it starting to evolve into an avalanche problem as loose, sugary grains (facets) develop on top.

Confidence

Avalanche Summary

We saw one sz1.5 loose dry that went today. Other than that, nothing new, but with the transport today, reloading was very quick.

Snowpack Summary

Lots of wind transport today at all elevations. Prevailing winds were SW which crossloaded many alpine slopes. Tree line and below had swirly, unpredictable winds that loaded up all aspects. Windslabs are widespread and vary in density from soft (4 finger) slabs at treeline to denser and thicker slabs in the alpine. There was some isolated cracking withing these slabs on the Mar 24th crust. Speaking of the Mar24th, it is everywhere, and thick. Today it was found as high as 2400m (our high point) where it was about 8cm thick and very firm. Lower down at 2100m it was down about 40cm and wasn't bonding especially well to the new snow. This will be the layer to watch as spring moves on. Solar aspects today were softening up by noon with pinwheeling reported on steeper, south facing ski lines.

Weather Summary

Morning low of -10, daytime high -1. The morning will have some thin cloud that will hopefully minimize the solar input, but still expect the sun to affect the snow on southern aspects. Winds will drop off a bit over the course of the day, but again expect some gusty winds and random, shifty wind directions. Snow? Nothing is expected.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.

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.

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.