Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 26th, 2026–Mar 27th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

With clear skies and fresh snow, motivation will be high tomorrow. Don't be complacent, remember to asses the latest wind loading patterns and have a look at the most recent crust.

Confidence

Avalanche Summary

A few mid storm avalanches were noted in alpine, east aspects, but these have subsided throughout today. A morning control run had underwhelming results with only soft slabs reacting.

Snowpack Summary

Another 10-20cm came last night with storm snow totals in the 30-50cm range at treeline. The March crust is down 40-60cm and still apparent at lower elevations. There has been some new wind slab development in the last 24 hours, but not as much as expected. The alpine continues to be the most problematic for fresh windslabs. Today remained cool with little sun effect on solar slopes.

Weather Summary

Tomorrow will feel more like spring than the last few days. Mostly clear skies with a few clouds building in the afternoon. Temperatures will start around -14°, bit warm up quickly in the afternoon. Daytime high of -3°. Southwesterly winds will be light, but gusty in the afternoon.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
Recent strong wind means wind slabs may be found farther downslope than expected.

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.