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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 23rd, 2025–Mar 24th, 2025

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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 and human triggered avalanches likely.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay, Banff, East Side 93N, Kootenay, Lake Louise, LLSA, Sunshine, West Side 93N, Field.

A warm storm approaches from the west bringing new snow, rain, strong wind and rising freezing levels. The storm arrives Mon, and by Tues freezing levels will reach 2500 m. This will cause an avalanche cycle in the region and human triggering will be almost certain in some areas, particularly below treeline and in the Bow Summit area.

Confidence

No Rating

Avalanche Summary

Over the past two weeks, many avalanches up to size 3.5 have occurred, including human-triggered, remote-triggered, and natural slides. These are all on persistent layers often stepping down to the ground. On Saturday, skiers had a near miss with a significant slab near Sunshine Village, and more reports of large avalanches near Observation Subpeak - this area has had very active avalanche activity over the past week.

Snowpack Summary

More new snow and even rain will add an additional load to the snowpack and create new storm slabs for Monday and Tuesday. This sits atop a 40-90 cm dense slab that has settled over a very weak, faceted mid and lower snowpack that fails easily in snowpack tests. This condition is most sensitive in the Bow Summit area. Additionally, slopes below treeline have been unusually reactive and this will continue with the incoming warmth.

Weather Summary

Snow, warmth and rain are coming our way for most of this week. Expect treeline temperatures to reach 2000 m on Monday, 2400 m on Tuesday and even higher on Wednesday. Along with this comes a mix of snow and rain, with some weather models calling for about 10-15 cm of snow overnight into Monday and even rain by Tuesday.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
  • Remote triggering is a big concern, be aware of the potential for wide propagations and large, destructive avalanches at all elevations.

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.

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.