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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 21st, 2025–Dec 22nd, 2025

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

Regions

North Rockies, McBride, East Kakwa, Kakwa, McGregor, Pine Pass, Renshaw, Robson, Tumbler.

Wind will continue to affect the storm snow at upper elevations.

The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.
  • Uncertainty is due to the extreme variability of wind effect on the snowpack.

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, explosive control work near Pine Pass produced size 2-3 wind slabs on reverse-loaded south to southwest aspects in the alpine. Evidence of previous natural activity (up to size 3) during the past storms was also reported in the Pine Pass area.

Snowpack Summary

An additional 10 cm of new snow has accumulated on top of the previous storm snow, bringing the total to 40-70 cm. Wind has redistributed this storm snow over the crust formed mid-December that extends up to 1800 m near the Pine Pass area, and up to 2000 m near Highway 16.

A layer of surface hoar, facets, and/or a crust may be found buried around 110-140 cm deep. This layer has been observed to be gaining strength and is now even less likely to be triggered where bridged by the recent crust.

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

Weather Summary

Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 50 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -20 °C.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 4 cm of snow in the afternoon. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -18 °C.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16 °C.

Wednesday
A mix of sun and clouds. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -14 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
  • Recent wind has varied in direction, so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.

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.