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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 18th, 2026–Feb 21st, 2026

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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.

Regions

Waterton Lakes, Waterton.

The snow is light and skiing is good, but keep in mind that the snow is still settling after a recent load of 50 cm.

Keep an eye out for signs of wind effect. The same light snow which is good for skiing is also ideal for wind transport.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain whether the wind will be enough to form new wind slabs.

Avalanche Summary

Due to current weather, it has been difficult to visualize starting zones. Avalanches have not been observed, but various signs of instability were experienced by our field team over the past couple days.

Snowpack Summary

Another 20 cm fell on top of the 20-30 cm we received over the past weekend. This snow is light density and unconsolidated in most places.

Under this, on polar aspects there are a series of melt freeze crusts and faceted layers. While on solar aspects, these layers have combined to form a singular thick melt freeze crust.

The mid and lower snowpack is well settled.

Weather Summary

Thursday

Sunny with cloudy periods. Low of -19 °C, High of -11 °C. Wind gusting to 35 km/h.

Friday

A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. Low of -13 °C, High of -11 °C. Wind gusting to 35 km/h.

Saturday

Sunny with cloudy periods. Low of -11 °C, High of -7 °C. Light wind up to 20 km/h.

Current weather forecast: Mountain Weather Forecast

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.

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.