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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 4th, 2026–Apr 5th, 2026

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Lizard-Flathead, Purcells, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Rossland, South Okanagan, Ymir, Akamina, Flathead, Lizard, Crawford, Moyie, St. Mary, Kokanee, Retallack, Valhalla.

Wet slabs may start to occur as heat and sun affect the snow above a crust.

Start early and plan to be away from sunny slopes by midday.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain about how the timing or intensity of warming will affect the snowpack.

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, there were many small, natural, loose wet avalanches, as well as a few small skier-controlled wind slabs.

On Thursday, numerous small wet loose avalanches were reported. Both natural and rider-triggered.

Near Fernie, several large (size 2) storm slabs were triggered with explosives.

Snowpack Summary

A new surface crust has likely formed on slopes that face the sun. Around 10 to 20 cm of new snow fell on Thursday, which sits on a thin melt-freeze crust.

A thick crust is buried 30 to 40 cm deep, which makes it unlikely to trigger any weak layers that persist below it in the upper snowpack.

The mid and lower snowpack is strong in most areas. Snowpack depth tapers rapidly at lower elevations.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Mostly clear skies. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2100 m.

Sunday
Mostly sunny. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 2 °C. Freezing level rising to 2700 m.

Monday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 3 mm of rain at treeline. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 4 °C. Freezing level 2800 m.

Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 to 10 mm of precipitation, starting as rain and slowly turning to snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level falling to 1600 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Start your day early and be out of avalanche terrain during the heat of the day.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
  • Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
  • Keep in mind that the high density of wet avalanches can make them destructive.

Problems

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.

Wet Slabs

Wet Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) that is generally moist or wet when the flow of liquid water weakens the bond between the slab and the surface below (snow or ground). They often occur during prolonged warming events and/or rain-on-snow events. Wet Slabs can be very unpredictable and destructive.

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.