Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 7th, 2026–Mar 8th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Purcells, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Rossland, Ymir, Crawford, St. Mary, Kokanee, Valhalla.

A persistent weak layer remains the primary concern - stick to conservative terrain free from overhead hazard.

Watch for new and reactive wind slabs forming at upper elevations.

Confidence

Moderate

We are confident that there are persistent slabs in the snowpack, but uncertain about how likely they are to trigger.
We are uncertain due to the variability of wind effect on the snowpack.

Avalanche Summary

On Friday sluffing and small wind affected pockets remained reactive to rider traffic.

On Thursday, a large persistent slab avalanche was remotely triggered by a snowcat on an east facing treeline slope. Reports of persistent slab activity appear to be tapering, but these layers are reactive and have produced recent large avalanches.

Snowpack Summary

Light snow accompanied by strong west wind has likely built small wind slabs treeline and above. Below this, a new surface hoar/surface crust layer has been buried.

In the top 100 cm of the snowpack, there are multiple concerning persistent weak layers of surface hoar and/or facets/crusts. The majority of the recent large and destructive avalanches occurred on well-preserved surface hoar in sheltered areas at treeline and below.

The remaining snowpack has no current layers of concern.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Cloudy. 1 to 5 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1900 m.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.

Monday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 to 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 to 3 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
Be aware of the potential for remote triggering and large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.
Any steep opening in the trees should be treated as suspect right now.

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.

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.