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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 18th, 2025–Apr 19th, 2025

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

Regions

Cariboos, North Rockies, Blue River, McBride, Premier, Quesnel, Sugarbowl, Clemina, East Kakwa, Kakwa, McGregor, Pine Pass, Renshaw, Robson, Tumbler.

A shift to cold, windy weather should reduce avalanche danger, but cornices remain a hazard in alpine terrain.

Confidence

Low

Avalanche Summary

No significant new avalanches have been reported in several days. A few large slab avalanches were seen west of Valemount on Thursday, but they likely occurred earlier. Small wind slabs were observed earlier this week.

Friday's warm sunny weather likely triggered some wet loose avalanches and cornice falls.

Looking ahead, the weather trend suggests avalanche activity is unlikely, but confidence is low due to limited observations.

Snowpack Summary

Variable surface conditions are expected as the weather shifts from sun and 3000 m freezing levels to colder, windier conditions. Wet surfaces will refreeze into a crust, then receive 5 to 10 cm of wind-affected snow.

Most terrain has undergone strong melt-freeze cycles. However, the snowpack may still be complex on north-facing alpine slopes, where deeply buried weak layers (50 to 200 cm) could be triggered by a large cornice fall.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level drops from 3000 m to valley bottom.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 1 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.

Sunday

Mix of sun and cloud with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Monday

Mix of sun and cloud with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
  • Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.

Problems

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.