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

Regions

Cariboos, North Columbia, Blue River, Clearwater, Premier, Quesnel, Sugarbowl, Clemina, North Monashee.

Human triggered avalanches remain likely, especially where freshly wind-loaded snow sits over a slippery crust.

Confidence

Low

  • Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Avalanche Summary

No new reports of avalanches since Wednesday when several very large (size 3-4) natural persistent slab avalanches were reported South of Valemount, likely having run during the warm storm.

Snowpack Summary

Ongoing flurries continue to add to 30 to 60 cm of recent storm snow sitting over a crust that extends up to 2200 m. In open terrain features, the snow is wind affected.

Where it exists, the supportive crust effectively caps a couple of mid snowpack instabilities, making them difficult to trigger. These include a spotty surface hoar layer, and a crust/facet layer from mid November.

Weather Summary

Friday Night
Mostly cloudy. 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow in most areas, 15+ cm in high terrain west of Valemount. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 15 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 15 cm of snow. 40 km/h south 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.
  • Keep in mind a buried crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.

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.