Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 5th, 2026–Mar 6th, 2026

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 unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

Flurries continue to "trickle" load the snowpack. We've had over 10cm yesterday and today and we expect that trend to continue. This new snow is helping to perk up the ski quality. Many places have decent dust on crust conditions. This boost in ski quality does come with a small price. Remember that this is also adding load and snow for additional wind loading.

Confidence

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed or reported today.

Snowpack Summary

Convective flurries kept up today giving about 10cm in the past 48 hours. This new snow is bonding well with the older snow and is helping the ski quality. This new snow has also buried windslabs in the alpine. Digging is becoming more critical to assess the Feb 14 interface. On that note, a quick profile today had positive results with the Feb 14 interface. Overall it is improving with trouble spots becoming more limited. Steep, convex areas and steep solar aspects remain a concern. The Feb 14th is down 60-80 on average. Also noted today was a weakening in the below treeline snowpack character. In sheltered trees it feels much weaker and less supportive than it has in the past. This could be something to keep in mind for the next storm.

Weather Summary

Friday is the start of a brief warming period. Tomorrow will get progressively warmer with day time highs approaching 0° at treeline. Convective flurries will continue, giving a few more centimeters by day's end. Alpine winds will increase to moderate westerlies. Expect ridge winds of 30-40km/hr. Of note, we've seen a notable increase in solar effect lately and temps have been higher than predicted. It seems spring is almost here.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Recent strong wind means wind slabs may be found farther downslope than expected.
Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind-exposed terrain.

Problems

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.