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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 18th, 2025–Dec 19th, 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 unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

South Rockies, Bull, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West.

Storm slabs remain reactive to human triggers, especially in wind affected terrain.

Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.

Confidence

Moderate

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

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, several explosive triggered storm slab avalanches up to size 2 were reported on north and easterly aspects in the alpine.

Snowpack Summary

45-70 cm of recent snow and strong west winds have formed slabs overlying a thick crust.

Above 1800 m, a crust is buried 50 to 100 cm deep. Beneath it, the snowpack contains several additional crusts, and in some locations, a weak, sugary facet layer near the ground.

Below 1800 m, the mid/lower snowpack is moist to ground in most areas.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night
Cloudy. 10 to 20 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1900 m.

Friday
Mix of sun and clouds. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries. 0 to 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries. 0 to 5 cm of snow. 35 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.



More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded features, especially near ridge crests, rollovers, and in steep terrain.
  • Use small, low consequence slopes to test the bond of the new snow.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.

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.