Avalanche forecast

North Rockies

Jan 4 – 5, 2026Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate

Highlights

Watch for storm slabs building throughout the day.

Stick to conservative terrain, very large avalanches have occurred in the region.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–3

    A buried crust has produced a recent widespread cycle of natural and human-triggered avalanches in the region. Remote triggering and step-down potential are both a concern with this layer.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2

    Wind and recent snow are forming storm slabs at all elevations.
    Avalanches in motion may step down to deeper layers in the snowpack creating larger than expected avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain.
  • Uncertainty is due to whether buried persistent weak layers become active, triggering avalanches, with the arrival of the forecast weather.

Avalanche Summary

Jan 2

  • Explosive control produced a few size 1.5 slabs in steep treeline terrain.

Dec 31

  • A very large naturally-triggered size 3.5 avalanche failed on the persistent weak layer.

Dec 30

  • A large (Size 2.5) remotely triggered persistent slab avalanche was reported in the Bullmoose riding area, near Tumbler Ridge. See the MIN for more details

  • A widespread natural avalanche cycle was reported in the Tumbler Ridge area, with avalanches up to size 2.5 on a variety of aspects.

Snowpack Summary

Recent snowfall has been blown into slabs in leeward alpine and treeline terrain by winds from variable directions.
An additional 5 to 20 cm is forecast for the region by Sunday afternoon, with the highest snow amounts set to fall in the western Kakwa area.

A persistent weak layer formed in mid-December that consists of a prominent crust with weak facets, was the cause of a recent large natural avalanche cycle. This layer is now buried 50 to 170 cm deep, depending on the aspect and wind loading.

In thin snowpack areas, faceted grains or depth hoar may exist at the base of the snowpack.

Check out this MIN post from the field team for more details on conditions in Pine Pass.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 10 cm of snow. 15km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -17 °C.

Sunday
Cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 25 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.

Monday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -13 °C.

Tuesday
Cloudy. 10 to 25 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for fresh storm slabs building throughout the day.
  • Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
  • Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.

Regions covered