Avalanche forecast

South Columbia

Dec 20 – 21, 2025Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Tue
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

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

Stick to conservative terrain while recent snow settles and stabilizes.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    2–3

    Persistent weak layers are unlikely to trigger where they are capped by a thick crust, up to 2300 m. Triggering remains possible in the high alpine.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–3

    Recent storm snow is expected to be reactive to natural and human triggers, especially where continued loading from snow or wind is observed. Deeper and more reactive deposits are expected in wind affected terrain.

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.

Regions covered