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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 19th, 2025–Dec 20th, 2025

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

South Columbia, Esplanade, Jordan, North Selkirk, Dogtooth, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold.

Human triggered avalanches remain likely, especially in freshly wind-loaded features.

Stick to conservative terrain while recent snow settles and stabilizes.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Uncertainty is due to how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.

Avalanche Summary

Earlier this week, numerous storm slabs were reported to size 2.5, many of them sliding on the crust below the recent storm snow. By Thursday, most reports were less than size 2.

Persistent slabs were reported to size 3 during the storm, most were explosive-triggered or on reloaded bed surfaces of previously avalanched slopes.

Snowpack Summary

Ongoing flurries continue to add to 40 to 70 cm of recent storm snow sitting over a hard crust that extends up to 2300 m. Wind is expected to pick up and redistribute recent snow in exposed terrain on Saturday.

The supportive crust effectively caps a couple of mid snowpack instabilities, making them difficult to trigger. These layers, now over 150 cm deep, may still be a concern in the high alpine where the crust does not exist.

Weather Summary

Friday Night
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow in most areas, 15+ cm in high terrain of the eastern Monashees, central Selkirks and west Purcells. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Saturday
Cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow, 15+ cm in high terrain if the central Selkirks and west Purcells. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 15 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Don't let the desire for deep powder pull you into high consequence terrain.
  • Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 20 cm of new snow.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.