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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 31st, 2026–Apr 1st, 2026

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

Regions

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

Cornices remain fragile, limit exposure. Strong solar input can rapidly affect the snowpack despite cool air temperatures, so plan to start early and finish early.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain about forecast precipitation amounts.

Avalanche Summary

Forecasters on Mt. Field today noted that cornices are particularly fragile. They observed a size 3 cornice-triggered avalanche, approximately 48 hours old, that released from Wapta Mountain and ran to the moraine on Mt. Field. Lake Louise patrol also reported that small cornice failures were triggering small wind slabs in alpine lee terrain.

Snowpack Summary

20-45 cm of snow fell over the last week, with moderate to strong SW winds creating wind effect in open areas. Wind slabs linger. This snow fell on the Mar 20th rain crust, which exists below 2100-2300m. Above this crust on solar aspects, various buried sun crusts exist, some extending to higher elevations. Cornice growth continues.

The Jan 24th facet layer is buried 70–180 cm deep at treeline and in the alpine, with some tests still producing hard, sudden results

Weather Summary

Slightly warmer temperatures on Wednesday, with valley highs around 2 and ridgetop temperatures near −6. Up to 8 cm of snow is expected late in the day, though model guidance remains uncertain. Winds may increase into the low end of strong from the south by midday.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Cornice failures could trigger large and destructive avalanches.

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.