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- vendredi 31 octobre 2025
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A parade of juicy fall storms have gotten all of us thinking about winter–and some of us heading out to claim first tracks. A handful of MIN posts have highlighted where there's enough snow to go take a look and the spread of visuals in those posts is pretty stunning.
First off, big ups to travisluvsbikes and SkiWithTuna in the Northwest for their posts showing off large glide slab releases on some regular performers. It seems the conditions up there are a month ahead of the rest of us. Avalanche season is ON in the Northwest.
The southern Sea to Sky appears to be shaping up nicely, with up to a metre of snow in places (certainly more by the time this blog is published) and mild temperatures hinting at the formation of a characteristically strong foundation.
The same warming has already produced widespread crusts in places like Brandywine Valley, a reminder that temperature spikes, rain, or longer intervals between storms will set up layering that paves the way for avalanches the next time the snow flies.
A lot of terrain is now above threshold for avalanches on the north and south coast.
Red Heather meadows in Squamish. Credit: Emily Nadia Kasal
Brandywine Valley alpine. Credit: MIN user TARFEEF101
More threshold-crossing coverage at treeline, Brandywine Valley. Credit: MIN user MACDONALDHALEY7
A bit farther north in the Wedgemount Lake area, coverage thins a bit, but avalanche paths are still smoothing out in treeline terrain as well as gullies and couloirs.
Wedgemount alpine. Credit: MIN user DECLANKNIES
Deeper in the interior of BC, the sparse reports from places like Raft Mountain and the Gorge near Revelstoke suggest you might find enough snow for cautious travel and maybe tackling a super smooth slope–but not without risk of a shark attack. The Gorge reportedly only has 30-40 cm at 1600 m.
Raft Mountain alpine and treeline. Credit: MIN user NICOLOGMAZ
The leeward Columbia Mountains are looking a lot like winter too. This MIN photo of a remote-triggered windslab on smooth ground at Farnham Glacier illustrates how threshold isn’t such a relevant concept in the alpine.
Farnham Glacier. Credit: MIN user BASTIENSWTOR
In places like Banff and Jasper National Parks, there’s more than enough snow to start threatening couloirs and ice climbs, so it’s time to make sure you’re factoring that into your plans.
Debris near the not-yet-skiable Grandaddy couloir on Bow Peak. MIN user CMURRAYSCHLITT
In fact, if there’s one message to pull from these images together, it’s that it’s time for us all to start looking at the mountains as avalanche terrain again!
Crossing the Threshold
The idea of terrain’s “threshold” for producing avalanches is about how it takes a certain amount of snow to form a smooth surface for avalanches to run on. It makes a lot of sense in lumpy places, like rock gardens or forest, but loses significance in the alpine or smooth slopes. Places below threshold for avalanches are often below threshold for recreation too. Avoid tying your mind up in knots about which slopes are above or below threshold. If there’s enough snow to be worth engaging in winter recreation, it’s probably above threshold. The old adage, “if there’s enough to ride, there’s enough to slide” has merit.
Head Out and Tune Up
The earliest part of the season is, bar none, the easiest time of year to get your friends out for rescue practice. Stoke is high and the mountains aren’t quite in form. You’re probably not ready to send it through the trees, but there’s more than enough snow to bury transceivers and probe targets. Use the time to get your skills honed and be ready to go when the conditions are right.
Just try to tell us this doesn’t look like fun. Credit: VI field team
Changing of the guard
For those of us still clinging to summer or shoulder season activities where we wouldn't normally need avalanche awareness or gear, we’re now confronted with a question: are you the kind of person that turns around when you encounter the snowline?
If the snow means no-go for you, your plans probably don’t need to change much right now. But if you’re the kind of person that hits the snowline and gets excited to take your hike up a notch? Then it’s definitely time to get the gear and training before you carry on.
Let’s enjoy spooky season and the end of fall safely, so when winter arrives in earnest we’re all set to enjoy it to the full.