Avalanche closures hit Trans-Canada Highway in Rogers Pass for 2 days
Published 2:48 pm Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Parks Canada advises drivers to pick another route through the Columbia Mountains the next couple days as it begins until-further-notice closures of the Trans-Canada Highway in Rogers Pass.
Highway 1 between Revelstoke and Golden has initially closed at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, for a series of avalanche control work in Glacier National Park that DriveBC indicates could continue over the next 48 hours.
Until as late as 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 19 — when Parks Canada says to expect its next update — motorists will have no detour access through Rogers Pass and are “recommended to plan an alternate route,” DriveBC says.
After low-risk backcountry and road conditions ensued over the weekend, fresh snowfall starting Sunday night, March 15, has maximized dangerous conditions for the region.
In these conditions, federal forecasters work with Canadian Armed Forces reserves in Glacier to systematically displace dangerous snowpack down dozens of avalanche chutes while the highway and railway are closed, to ensure the snow is cleared and the risk is alleviated without harm to the public and national traffic.
READ: Driver fined $4,500, banned after twice ignoring Rogers Pass closure
Avalanche control during the previous Highway 1 closure in Rogers Pass, which ran into Tuesday morning, “successfully triggered several large slides that reached the road,” Parks Canada shared on social media.
“Well above forecast precipitation arrived overnight, significantly increasing avalanche hazard. Additional avalanche control work is now required.”
In Rogers Pass, the federal agency had projected high avalanche risk at all elevations for Tuesday, with conditions expected to reach extreme from alpine to valley bottom by Thursday, as per forecasting via Avalanche Canada.
Parks Canada has cautioned that visitors should avoid any backcountry travel the next few days in Glacier.
Traffic control personnel will remain on site at each side of the ongoing Highway 1 closures.
Check the latest highway updates at drivebc.ca.