Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 3rd, 2025–Mar 4th, 2025

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

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

Human triggered avalanches are still possible. Take the time to dig and look at the snowpack. Continue with conservative route selection.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been observed or reported today. There is definitely evidence of the cycle over the weekend.

Snowpack Summary

Burstall Pass got about 8cm of new snow on Monday. Expect another 5-10cm of new snow by Tuesday morning if the forecast comes true. Our biggest concern right now is the persistent slab near the surface that is resting on the Jan 30 interface made of facets, sun crust or another dense layer. This is the perfect recipe for human triggering of avalanches(dense layer on top of weak junky snow). Travelling at lower elevations involves ski penetration to ground if you leave any established trail.

Weather Summary

Monday evening is expected to bring up to 10cm of snow, possibly more towards the Eastern slopes. Have a look at the weather stations to see if this dream comes true.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

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.
Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

Problems

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.