Fifty centimetres of snow fell on the Kananaskis backcountry overnight, and the people whose job it is to watch these things are not mincing words. Kananaskis avalanche danger has been rated five out of five – the maximum on Avalanche Canada's scale – across alpine, treeline, and below treeline zones as of Thursday, March 12.
That rating translates, in Avalanche Canada's own language, to “extraordinarily dangerous avalanche conditions.” The likelihood column on their site reads: “Natural and human-triggered avalanches are certain.”
Certain. Not likely. Not elevated. Certain.
Highway 742 Is Closed, and Nobody Knows Exactly When It Opens
Spray Lakes Road – also known as Highway 742 and the Smith-Dorrien Highway – has been shut from the Grassi Lakes day-use area all the way to Engadine Lodge.
That's a 31-kilometre stretch, and the closure takes with it Buller Pass Trail, a section of the High Rockies Trail, Sparrowhawk Day Use, Driftwood Day Use, and West Wind Pass Trail. If your weekend itinerary involves any of those, it's time to have a quiet rethink.
The Town of Canmore has confirmed that avalanche control work is planned for the morning of Friday, March 13, weather dependent. Kananaskis Mountain Rescue will be carrying out that work, which includes the East End of Rundle.
The estimated reopening time is 2 p.m. on March 13 – though that comes with the caveat that weather conditions on the morning of the 13th will have the final say.
The Backcountry Is Not the Place to Wait It Out
Avalanche Canada's Thursday morning update, posted at 9:30 a.m. and prepared by the Kananaskis Mountain Rescue Programme, was blunt in a way that safety communications rarely manage to be: “Avoid the backcountry.” Not “exercise caution.” Not “check conditions before you go.” Avoid it entirely for the next two days.
Kananaskis Mountain Rescue added that this applies more broadly than most people assume. “Heavy snow is making for poor avalanche conditions,” they stated. “It's best to avoid all avalanche terrain and let the new snow settle.
Avalanche terrain includes valley bottom run-out zones.” That last sentence is worth sitting with – you don't need to be on a steep slope to find yourself in the wrong place.
What Arrived Overnight and What's Still Coming
Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a snowfall warning for the Canmore area at 4:42 a.m. Thursday, noting that heavy snow was expected to taper off through the morning, with total accumulations of 10 to 20 centimetres before it ended. In Banff National Park, up to 25 centimetres of new snow was recorded across the region, and avalanche danger there is also rated high.
The overnight total in parts of the Kananaskis backcountry exceeded 50 centimetres – the kind of number that makes the snowpack deeply unstable and keeps rescue teams very busy.
What to Check Before You Go Anywhere Near This
The Alberta Parks advisory for the Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park is being updated as conditions change. Avalanche Canada's forecast and danger ratings are available at avalanche.ca – it's worth bookmarking if you spend any time in the mountains between November and May.
In the meantime, there is fresh snow on the ground in Canmore and Banff town, the coffee is hot, and the mountains will still be there once the new snow has had a chance to remember what a stable snowpack is supposed to feel like.