Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 5th, 2025–Mar 6th, 2025

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 unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

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.

Regions

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

Human triggering is still possible with the generally weak snowpack. Take the time to dig and evaluate the snowpack before committing to steeper lines.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been observed or reported today.

Snowpack Summary

We have about 8cm of snow that has fallen in the past 3 days at treeline elevation. The main concern right now is the persistent slab 15-30cm thick that is resting on the Jan 30 interface made of facets, sun crust or another dense layer. The mid and lower snowpack is primarily facets. Natural avalanche activity has tapered, but human triggering remains possible, due to the dense slab overlying a lot of weak facets. Forecasters have little confidence in the snowpack. Travelling at lower elevations involves ski penetration to ground if you leave any established trail.

Weather Summary

Thursday will be mostly sunny, a high temperature of -2c in the Alpine and light NW winds. The freezing level is expected to rise to 2000m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
Keep in mind that human triggering may persist as natural avalanches taper off.
Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.

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.