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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 13th, 2025–Dec 14th, 2025

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Spearhead, Tantalus.

A storm is expected to bring strong winds and up to 65 mm of precipitation as rain or snow on Sunday.

Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Numerous size 1 to 2.5 explosive, natural and human-triggered slabs and cornices were triggered in the Whistler/ Blackcomb area last week. A few of these slabs stepped down to the mid-November crust up to 1 m deep, setting off very large avalanches. Most of these avalanches released in high alpine leeward north through east facing features.

The incoming storm is expected to greatly increase the likelihood of both natural and human-triggered avalanches.

Snowpack Summary

35 to 65 mm of precipitation, combined with strong southerly winds, is forecast to fall by 4 pm Sunday. The snow/rain line elevation is uncertain and likely to fluctuate during the storm. There is potential for wet loose avalanches where the snow surface is wet. In the alpine, we expect to see reactive new storm slabs building as the new snow adds up.

A crust with facets, formed in mid-November, is buried around 60-120 cm, depending on the aspect. Storm slabs have the potential to step down to this layer.

The snowpack rapidly diminishes below 1200 m.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Cloudy. 5 to 20 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 2 °C. Freezing level between 1900 - 2100 m.

Sunday
Cloudy. 30 to 45 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 60 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level between 2000 - 1600 m.

Monday
Cloudy. 60 to 100 mm of precipitation as rain or snow at treeline. 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level between 1500 - 2500 m.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 20 to 35 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.


More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
  • Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.

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 Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.