Avalanche forecast

Haines Pass

Mar 12 – 13, 2026Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 7 months ago

Avalanche danger

Sat
Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
No rating

Highlights

Human-triggered wind slabs may step down to persistent weak layers.

Continually assess conditions as you travel and avoid aggressive terrain choices.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Strong to extreme winds have heavily impacted the alpine and open treeline terrain. Outflow winds are redistributing any remaining dry snow, building new wind slabs over hard previous surfaces.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–3

    This layer of concern can be found down 50 to 100 cm and has been reactive during snowpack testing.

Confidence

Moderate

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

Avalanche Summary

A few small ( size 1) human-triggered wind slab avalanches were reported in the region and were initiated on a north facing slope.

Snowpack Summary

30 to 50 cm of recent storm snow has been redistributed by moderate to strong west winds developing wind slabs. This snow sits on a thin layer of facets that was buried on March 3 this layer has recently been reactive to human triggers.

A crust/facet layer buried mid-February remains a concern and has been reactive in snowpack tests.

Below this, the lower snowpack is well settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night
Clear skies. 10 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -20 °C.

Friday
Sunny. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -18 °C.

Saturday
Sunny. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16 °C.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -14 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Avoid shallow snowpack areas, rocky outcrops, and steep terrain where triggering is most likely.
  • If triggered, wind slabs may step down to deeper layers, causing larger avalanches.

Regions covered