Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 21st, 2026–Apr 22nd, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Dogtooth, East Purcell, West Purcell.

Travel cautiously on steep slopes where the snow surface is wet. Give cornices a wide berth, as they could release unexpectedly.

Confidence

Moderate

We are uncertain due to a limited number of field observations.

Avalanche Summary

Many small wet loose and slab avalanches were observed during warm weather over the past few days. They've been observed on all aspects and elevations.

Looking forward, avalanche activity is expected to slowly decrease as cooler and cloudier weather arrives. Until that happens, continue to travel conservatively anywhere the snow surface is wet and slushy and near cornices.

Snowpack Summary

Wet snow exists to mountain top, which will slowly freeze into a melt-freeze crust at higher elevations as cooler weather arrives. The snow surface will remain wet on sun-exposed slopes and at lower elevations.

Various hard crusts are found in the top half of the snowpack. In the high alpine near Invermere, a layer of weak facets may persist above one of these crusts, found 30 to 80 cm deep.

The snowpack continues to melt below treeline.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy. 1 mm of rain. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 5 °C. Freezing level 3000 m.

Wednesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 2600 m.

Thursday
Mix of sun and clouds with isolated flurries. 2 to 5 cm of snow with local amounts up to 15 cm possible. 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.

Friday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing level 1400 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.
Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
Limit exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes, especially when the solar radiation is strong.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.