Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 7th, 2025–Apr 8th, 2025

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

Dry snow can still be found on North aspects. Winds and some light snow is expected, so be on the lookout for new wind slabs. If the sun comes out or if the day starts out with moist snow, then the avalanche hazard could be higher than forecast.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported but it is getting difficult to distinguish what is new as there are so many.

Snowpack Summary

Low elevation areas had moist snow by 11am. If the sun comes out, be on the lookout for this change. Most direct solar aspects have a thick temperature crust that carries the weight of a skier. East and west aspects have more of a breakable crust and only pure north aspects have dry snow. The March 28th crust is down 20-50cm and found as high as 2600m. Above this elevation on the northern aspects there is still some uncertainty with regards to the basal layers so continue to be curious at this elevation. Some windslabs exist in the alpine at upper elevations.

Weather Summary

5cm snow is forecast Monday night. Tuesday will be mostly cloudy along with strong SW winds. Freezing level will be 1800m Monday night and climb to 2200m. The temperatures in the alpine have been above freezing since Sunday morning and will only get below freezing on Monday night.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid shallow snowpack areas, rocky outcrops, and steep terrain where triggering is most likely.
Avoid exposure to overhead hazards when solar radiation is strong.
Limit exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes, especially when the solar radiation is strong.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.