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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 15th, 2025–Dec 16th, 2025

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay, Little Yoho, Banff, East Side 93N, Kootenay, Lake Louise, LLSA, Sunshine, West Side 93N, Field.

With continued snowfall and strong winds on Tuesday, the hazard will remain elevated.

Avalanche activity will slowly decrease with cooling temperatures, but it will take time for the snowpack to adjust to all the new load.

The Simpson Area avalanche closure zones are CLOSED for avalanche control on Tuesday, December 16th, 2025.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Monday, wet loose avalanches were observed in steep terrain at lower elevations.

On Sunday and Monday, local ski areas triggered wind slabs up to size 2 in loaded alpine and treeline areas, and persistent slab avalanches up to size 3 on the Nov 17/22 facet/crust layer, with some failing down at the Nov 13 facets/crust layer.

We expect avalanche activity to slow with the cooling temperatures on Tuesday, but the hazard will remain elevated for a few days.

Snowpack Summary

Strong W/SW winds and new snow continue to build storm slabs in the alpine. Below 1900 m, warm air and rain have soaked the past week’s storm snow, with heavy wet snow at valley bottom.

A 50–100 cm slab now sits over the Nov 22 facet layer, which is particularly touchy where it is associated with a sun or temperature crust that persists in some alpine areas. Lower down, the Nov 13 facets/crust layer extends up to ~2100–2300 m.

Treeline snowpack depths range from 60-140 cm.

Weather Summary

A cold front on Monday night will cool things down, with freezing levels dropping to valley bottom overnight. On Tuesday, treeline temperatures will stay steady near -6°C with freezing levels rising to 1500 m.

Another 20-30+ cm of snow is expected through Tuesday and Wednesday, with W/SW winds remaining in the moderate to strong range.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.