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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 15th, 2026–Mar 16th, 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

South Rockies, Dogtooth, East Purcell, St. Mary, Bull, Elkford East, Elkford West.

Snow is available for transport and strong wind speeds are in the forecast.

New wind slabs will be building and may be found lower in terrain features.

Continually assess as you travel.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain about how persistent slabs will react to the forecast weather.

Avalanche Summary

Several small dry loose avalanches were reported throughout the region, mostly on north facing terrain.

On Friday, a skier triggered size 1.5 persistent slab was reported west of Invermere on a northeast aspect at 2000 m. The crown was 25 to 60 cm deep.

Snowpack Summary

5 to 10 cm of new snow will cover a sun crust on solar facing terrain, and 30 to 50 cm of wind affected storm snow elsewhere.

Below the recent snow is a 1 to 10 cm thick crust on all aspects. The thickness of the crust depends on elevation.

At upper elevations, where the crust is thinner or not present, it may still be possible to trigger persistent slabs on multiple buried weak layers of surface hoar and/or crusts in the top 120 cm of the snowpack.

In shallow snowpack areas, depth hoar (large facets) can be found near the bottom of the snowpack.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 4 cm of snow. 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 4 to 10 cm of snow. 70 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 10 mm of mixed precipitation at treeline. 70 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 4 to 15 mm of rain at treeline. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 2 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, or recent avalanches.
  • Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind-exposed terrain.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.

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.