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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

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

Human-triggered wind slabs are likely and may be especially touchy where they have formed over a melt-freeze crust.

Choose low-angled, sheltered terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

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

Avalanche Summary

A large natural persistent slab avalanche was reported on Wednesday South of Valemount.

Wind slabs that formed over the recent crust are sensitive to human triggers.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 40 cm of recent storm snow is settling over a crust that extends up to 2200 m. In open terrain features, the snow is wind affected.

The mid and lower snowpack consists of settled snow and two layers: a surface hoar layer, that is spotty and a crust/facet layer from mid November.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy. 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Friday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 4 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -13 °C.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °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.
  • Avoid shallow snowpack areas, rocky outcrops, and steep terrain where triggering is most likely.

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.