Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 9th, 2025–Mar 10th, 2025

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

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

"Avoid all avalanche terrain."

The new snow and wind slabs combined with our already weak snowpack makes for dangerous avalanche conditions.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

We suspect there was some avalanche activity today but visibility was poor to confirm this. A flight in the Ghost area yesterday did have a small slab release at the bottom of Hydrophobia. Lots of wind out there today.

Snowpack Summary

10cm of snow has fallen on Saturday night and another 15cm is expected on Sunday night for a total of up to25cm of storm snow. This snow has come in with strong westerly winds, so expect lots of fresh wind slabs in the alpine and at treeline.

There are two issues happening right now. These new windslabs are growing are will be touchy in terms of human triggering. Secondly, below this, is the persistent slab that is resting on a large layer of facets. We believe that the persistent slab could be triggered by the extra loading of the wind slab or the weight of a skier. Either way, it appears best to stay away from avalanche terrain until the snowpack settles down. Travel below treeline is still challenging as the snowpack is still not supporting the weight of skiers.

The Ghost region is seeing a lot of wind with this storm. Expect to find bowls above ice climbs loaded as well as approach gullies. Be more alert than usual in this area. There have been reports of avalanches in the Ghost.

Weather Summary

15cm of snow is expected to fall on Sunday night. This snow will be accompanied by strong SW winds up to 80km/hr and then diminish to 30km/hr SW by Monday morning. The high temperature for the Alpine is expected to get to -6c.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain; avalanches may run surprisingly far.
Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.

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.

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.