Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 11th, 2025–Apr 14th, 2025

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.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Regions

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

Up to 20cm of snow is forecast for the next 24hrs as an upslope system moves into the region. Strong winds on Friday created new windslabs in alpine terrain. Assess the bond of new snow to the underlying crust as well as buried windslabs in higher elevations.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new observed in the past 24hrs but observations were limited.

Snowpack Summary

Strong winds combined with a few cm's of new snow overnight have made the wind affect in alpine areas much more pronounced. Expect windslabs along ridgelines on all aspects. Where the new windslabs are overlying a temperture crust from that week be sure to carefully evaluable to the bond with the underlying layers. On northern aspects the interface will be more of a storm snow interface down 20-40cm. With the new snow arriving Saturday be sure to evaluate the bond with the underlying snow surface. Where the new snow is overlying a thick MFC it will likely be more reactive so keep this in the forefront of your mind. Windslabs developed during this week will also be harder to locate so ensure you are feeling/evaluating these weakness as you travel.

Weather Summary

Freezing levels are forecast to drop to 1700m on Saturday as an upslope system moves into the region giving us 15-20cm of snow with generally light winds. Snow is forecast to start midday and continue into the evening on Saturday night. Daytime highs are forecast to be around -3C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Even brief periods of direct sun could produce natural avalanches.
Avoid shallow snowpack areas, rocky outcrops, and steep terrain where triggering is most likely.
Wind slabs are isolated, but may remain reactive.
Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.

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.

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.