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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 24th, 2025–Dec 25th, 2025

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

Regions

Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

Watch for recently formed wind slabs and use caution around large open slopes. Buried surface hoar is lurking in the snowpack and can be hard to detect.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Uncertainty is due to the fact that persistent slabs are particularly difficult to forecast.

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, the AvCan field team observed a couple of recent size 2 wind slab avalanches in the Onion riding area.

On Tuesday, this MIN post descibes one recent small natural wind slab avalanche. They also ski cut a size one wind slab (see photo below).

Snowpack Summary

Variable winds have created mixed conditions. Open areas are heavily wind affected, while sheltered terrain still holds soft powder.

A rain crust from mid-December extends up to about 1400 m. A widespread November surface hoar layer lies 60 to 100 cm deep in sheltered treeline areas. While no recent avalanches have involved this layer, some snowpack tests results have been concerning.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night
Mostly clear skies. 10-20 km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -14 °C.

Thursday
Sunny. 20-30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -13 °C.

Friday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 cm of snow. 10-20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16 °C.

Saturday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 cm of snow. 20-40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -21 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Recent wind has varied in direction, so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
  • Surface hoar distribution is highly variable. Avoid generalizing your observations.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.