Avalanche forecast

Jasper

Dec 15 – 16, 2025Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 10 months ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
4 · High
Treeline
4 · High
Below
3 · Considerable

Highlights

Sunday to Tuesday will be stormy bringing upwards of 50-70cm of snow, strong winds, and lower elevation rain. Bulk of the precipitation will arrive Monday. Sunday afternoon Highway 93 was closed Jasper to Lake Louise due to treacherous driving conditions and increasing avalanche danger. Avalanche control will occur Tuesday.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely
    Size
    1.5–3

    Winds will be sustained moderate to strong over the next couple of days. Windslab development is inevitable.

  • Loose Dry

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

    The incoming storm snow, particularly on steep slopes, will lack cohesion and result in loose dry avalanches of significant size and length. Rain in lower elevations could soak the snow resulting in some moist loose avalanches.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely
    Size
    1.5–3

    Sunday to Tuesday storm amounts could reach 70cm. Expect many slopes to be primed or overloaded resulting in high potential for natural and human triggered activity.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Sunday's road patrol observed several loose wet at low elevation locations. Alpine locations were obscured. The incoming storm was ramping up late Sunday afternoon thus expect an increase in natural activity the following days.

Snowpack Summary

Sunday brought 20cm of new snow plus moderate winds loading lee features. This overlies the previous 50 cm of storm snow from Dec 8th that rests on a facet interface. A small crust is located 30cm up from ground. Snowpack ranges from 60 to 120cm at the Icefields. The Bald Hills area average is 60cm.

Weather Summary

Monday will snow heavily bringing potentially 40cm of new snow, 90km/hr winds, and -1 °C. Tuesday to Wednesday could bring another 20cm and moderate to strong winds.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Loose avalanches may step down to deeper layers, resulting in larger avalanches.

Regions covered