About Sunshine

This page shows the current backcountry snow report, avalanche forecast, and weather conditions for Sunshine. Check the danger rating, field observations, and Doctor's Orders summary above before heading out.

The Sunshine region covers the high alpine terrain surrounding Sunshine Village Ski Resort and the backcountry accessible from Healy Pass, Citadel Pass, and the upper Sunshine Creek drainage within Banff National Park. This area sits at the Continental Divide, straddling the BC-Alberta border at elevations between 2000 and 2700 metres, and represents some of the highest consistently skiable terrain in the Canadian Rockies outside of the Columbia Icefields. The terrain is broadly open and glacially shaped, with extensive planar slopes, broad subalpine bowls, and the heavily corniced ridgelines of the Great Divide forming the backbone of the region. The Sunshine gondola and road provide winter access from the Bow Valley corridor. The Sunshine region benefits from a slightly elevated snow climate compared to lower Banff area regions, with its position astride the Continental Divide allowing it to intercept both Pacific moisture events tracking from the west and Alberta storm systems from the northeast. Snowfall volumes are higher than the valley-level Banff regions, and the snowpack is generally deeper and better consolidated. However, the region's exposure and elevation mean wind effect is extreme and persistent, and slab development on lee aspects can be severe and variable across short distances. Persistent weak layers formed during cold, clear continental periods are a known and documented concern in the Sunshine area, particularly following the burial of surface hoar growth by subsequent storm cycles.

Terrain within this zone includes: Sunshine Village, Citadel Pass, Healy Creek, Egypt Lake, Mount Assiniboine, Simpson Pass.