Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 16th, 2026–Jan 17th, 2026

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.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South.

A layer of warm air in the alpine may cause wet loose avalanches.

There is a thick crust on the surface that can make travel difficult.

Confidence

High

We have a good understanding of the snowpack structure and confidence in the weather forecast

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, there were some small wet loose avalanches triggered by skiers in the south.

Snowpack Summary

A thick crust is effectively capping the mid and lower snowpack at the moment. This crust is on aspects and elevations. It may not be present in the very high alpine.

Below the crust we have several layers:

A spotty layer of surface hoar buried 40 cm deep that is unreactive.
A crust in the midpack, at treeline and below.
A crust with facets near the base of the snowpack.

Average depth at treeline is 120-200 cm.

Weather Summary

Friday Night
Clear skies. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Saturday
Sunny. 40 to 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Above freezing layer (AFL) in the alpine.

Sunday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 cm of snow. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Monday
Sunny. 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.
Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches.
This is a good time for exploring terrain.

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.