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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 16th, 2026–Mar 17th, 2026

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Alpine
Widespread avalanches certain.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Alpine
Widespread avalanches certain.
Treeline
Widespread avalanches certain.
Below Treeline
Widespread avalanches certain.

Regions

Glacier.

We are expecting to see large destructive avalanches this week.

Now is a good time to stay out of the backcountry.

Confidence

High

  • We are confident the likelihood of avalanches will increase with the forecast weather.

Avalanche Summary

We expect a significant, destructive series of natural avalanche cycles this week.

Size 1.5 skier triggered wind slab was reported on MacDonald West shoulder Friday.

Neighbouring operations are still reporting sporadic, persistant slab natural avalanche activity up to sz 3.

Information on how to deal with persistent slab problems, see the Avalanche Canada blog post.

Snowpack Summary

In the Alpine and at Treeline, 50-1000cm of storm snow has fallen since Mar 8. Moderate to strong southerly winds have loaded lee features in exposed terrain.

Below treeline, 20-30 cm of storm snow covers the Mar 8 rain crust, which is present up to ~1850m.

The Feb 9 and Jan 26 surface hoar (SH) layers are now buried 110-170cm deep. The Jan 26th layer is a crust with either surface hoar (up to 40mm in some places!) or facets on top of it.

Weather Summary

An atmospheric river will impact the region. Expect warm temps, heavy snow mixed with rain and strong winds

Tonight Snow, 11cm. Alpine low -0°C. Freezing level (FZL) 2000m. Wind SW 15 gusting 65km/h

Tues Wet snow mixed with rain, 13cm. High 2°C. Wind SW 15 gusting 55km/h. FZL 2400m.

Wed Mix of heavy rain/snow, 30cm. High 2°C. Wind SW 15 gusting 60km/h. FZL 2400m

Thurs Snow, 20-25cms. FZL 2600m. Wind SW 15-60km/h

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain; avalanches may run surprisingly far.
  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.

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.

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.