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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 5th, 2026–Mar 6th, 2026

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

Regions

Flathead, Lizard, Moyie.

A persistent weak layer remains the primary concern for the region, especially at treeline.

Don't let your guard down, choose conservative terrain where you observe signs of instability.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We have higher uncertainty about treeline conditions due to persistent slabs.
  • We are confident that there are persistent slabs in the snowpack, but uncertain about how likely they are to trigger.

Avalanche Summary

Persistent slab avalanches have been reported almost daily for the past week, including remote triggers.

The upper snowpack structure has weak layers of concern that remain reactive to human-triggering.

Snowpack Summary

A weak overnight refreeze of moist surface crust may break down throughout the day. The crust can be found on solar aspects, and most areas at treeline and below.

Multiple weak layers of surface hoar and/or crust–facet combinations may be present within the upper meter of the snowpack. The most reactive layer, formed in late January, is buried 40–90 cm deep. Recent avalanches have primarily failed on this surface hoar layer, particularly in steep, sheltered terrain at treeline and below.

While this layer has shown reduced reactivity near the ski hill and in the Lizard Range, riders are still sporadically triggering it across the forecast area.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night
Clear skies. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Friday
Mix of sun and clouds. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 4 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 25 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2100 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, or recent avalanches.
  • Surface hoar distribution is highly variable. Avoid generalizing your observations.
  • Avoid shallow snowpack areas, rocky outcrops, and steep terrain where triggering is most 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.