Avalanche forecast

Sugarbowl

Mar 2 – 3, 2026Avalanche Canada
View on map
Archived · expired 7 months ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate

Highlights

Continue to make conservative terrain choices.

Fresh wind and snow are keeping the avalanche problem alive.

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    Recent snow and wind have developed reactive slabs. Since this snow fell with strong wind, avalanches will be more likely on leeward slopes and in cross-loaded features.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain about how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.
  • We are uncertain due to a limited number of field observations.

Avalanche Summary

Numerous natural storm slabs and wind slab avalanches (up to size 3) were reported from all elevations and all aspects during the heavy storm on Thursday.

Looking forward, we expect that human triggered avalanches remain likely.

If you are heading into the backcountry, please share any observations with the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Some areas could see up to 20 cm of new snow by the end of the day Monday, with strong westerly wind. Expect to find, deeper, denser, reactive wind slabs on leeward slopes, possibly further downslope than normal. Below that, 90 to 140 cm of settling snow overlies previously wind-affected surfaces or a solid melt-freeze crust.

The remainder of the snowpack is consolidated with no layers of concern.

To read about conditions in Kakwa on Thursday, see this MIN report from the Avalanche Canada North Rockies field team.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy. 4 to 10 cm of snow. 45-70 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Monday

Cloudy. 3 to 10 cm of snow. 50-70 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. 10 to 20 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy. 10 to 30 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded features, especially near ridge crests, rollovers, and in steep terrain.

Regions covered