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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 21st, 2026–Feb 22nd, 2026

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

Regions

Lizard-Flathead, South Rockies, Akamina, Bull, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West.

A weak layer of sugary crystals has been recently buried and will likely be a problem for a while.

It's uncertain how widespread this layer is. Avoid terrain traps.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are confident that there are persistent slabs in the snowpack, but uncertain about how likely they are to trigger.

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, there were several large (size 2) explosive triggered storm slabs on south to southeast alpine terrain.

On Thursday, several persistent slabs were remotely triggered above Sparwood. Also, there were a few large avalanches triggered with explosives near Castle.

An avalanche fatality occurred in the neighbouring region within the Flathead range on Tuesday. See this MIN post for more details.

Snowpack Summary

Roughly 20 to 40 cm of storm snow has accumulated earlier in the week, which sits over:

  • Soft, weak, faceted snow, possibly topped with small surface hoar crystals in sheltered areas.

  • Wind-pressed snow in high elevation lees.

  • Crust on exposed windward features, south aspects and low elevations.

The remainder of the snowpack is well consolidated, containing a number of crusts which are not of concern at this time.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Clear skies. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Sunday
Sunny. 40 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 10 cm of snow. 60 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 3 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • In times of uncertainty, conservative terrain choices are our best defense.
  • Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.
  • Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
  • Keep in mind that human triggering may persist as natural avalanches taper off.

Problems

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.

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.