Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 13th, 2025–Dec 14th, 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 and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

You may encounter a diverse range of conditions today, dependent on elevation, aspect and time of day. These changing conditions may influence the reactivity of a buried weak layer.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Observations have been limited. The only avalanche reported was a small cornice-triggered wind slab from earlier this week. Curiously, we have not seen any larger persistent slab avalanches on the buried surface hoar which has us scratching our heads 🤔

If you are getting out in the backcountry, consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN)!

Snowpack Summary

New snow continues to accumulate and redistribute with wind.

In wind-sheltered areas around treeline, a couple of weak layers of feathery surface hoar crystals are buried 50 to 80 cm deep. This layer has been reactive in snowpack tests this week, but so far we've seen no avalanche activity on it.

The mid snowpack contains a crust with small facets above it, but does not present a problem at this time.

The snowpack is around 100 to 150 cm deep at treeline, tapering quickly with elevation.

Weather Summary

Saturday night
Partly cloudy. 0 to 3 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Sunday
Partly cloudy. 3 to 8 cm of snow. 60 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 1400 m.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 15 mm of mixed precipitation. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +1 °C in the morning then cooling. Freezing level 1800 m falling to 1000 m.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.
Stay off recently wind loaded slopes until they have had a chance to stabilize.
Use extra caution for areas that are experiencing rapidly warming temperatures for the first time.
Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.

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.