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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 9th, 2026–Apr 10th, 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, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Rockies, Bull, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West.

Cornice failures may trigger very large persistent slabs on the slopes below.

Avoid traveling underneath them, especially when the weather is hot and sunny.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain about how quickly persistent slabs are gaining strength.

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, our field team spotted large (size 2.5) persistent slab avalanche triggered by a cornice fall on Window Mountain. It likely occurred on Tuesday. See photo below.

On Sunday, a very large persistent slab avalanche released naturally near Crowsnest Pass. See the photos for more information.

Observations from this region are currently very limited. Please consider submitting a MIN to let us know what you're seeing out there.

Snowpack Summary

Poor overnight crust recovery and strong solar radiation mixed with high freezing levels are increasing the likelihood of cornice failures and wet avalanches.

A hard surface crust exists up to at least 2100 m on northerly aspects, and right up to mountaintops on sunny aspects.

Triggering persistent slab avalanches in the alpine on weak facets above a crust down 50 to 70 cm remains a concern. These are most likely to be triggered by heavy loads (like a cornice) or a snowmobile in steep, rocky, alpine terrain.

Below this, the snowpack is generally well consolidated. However, facets exist at the base of the snowpack in shallow areas.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night
Clear skies. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2100 m.

Friday
Sunny. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 4 °C. Freezing level 2800 m.

Saturday
Mostly sunny. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 6 °C. Freezing level 3000 m.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 2300 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Cornice failures could trigger large and destructive avalanches.
  • Avoid travelling on slopes below cornices.
  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling, and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.
  • Avalanches could start at higher elevations and travel into below treeline terrain.

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

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.