Avalanche Season Arrives: Fall Storms Bring Early Avalanche Activity

A parade of powerful fall storms has charged across British Columbia, blanketing mountain ranges from the coast to the Rockies and signaling the start of avalanche season. According to Avalanche Canada’s “In Like A Lion” update, early-season snowpacks are already showing signs of instability—especially in the Northwest and Coast ranges—prompting a reminder that “if there’s enough to ride, there’s enough to slide.”

In the Northwest, riders like @travisluvsbikes and @SkiWithTuna have posted visuals of large glide slab releases on well-known slopes—evidence that avalanche season is fully underway there. Conditions in that region are running about a month ahead of the rest of the province.

Further south, the Sea to Sky region has been hammered by storms delivering up to a metre of snow, with warming temperatures creating early crust layers in places like Brandywine Valley. These crusts, formed by rain or mild weather, will likely become weak layers once new snow arrives. Terrain above treeline in both north and south coastal zones is now above threshold for avalanches.

In the Wedgemount Lake area, coverage thins slightly, but avalanche paths are smoothing out, and snow is accumulating in gullies and couloirs. Moving inland, sparse reports from Revelstoke’s Gorge and Raft Mountain suggest there’s just enough snow for cautious travel—30 to 40 cm at 1600 m—but rocks (“sharks”) remain a serious concern.

On the Columbia icefields and leeward slopes, photos from Farnham Glacier show remotely triggered wind slabs on smooth alpine ground, illustrating that threshold concepts are less relevant at elevation—avalanches can run even on thin snowpacks. And in Banff and Jasper National Parks, early snow is already loading couloirs and ice climbs, meaning avalanche hazard is real for early-season alpine travelers.

Avalanche Canada reminds backcountry users that it’s time to start thinking of the mountains as avalanche terrain again. If there’s enough snow to ski, ride, or climb—it’s time to bring your beacon, probe, and shovel, and refresh your rescue skills. Early season is the perfect time for practice before the deep winter sets in.

As the post concludes, “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.”

Check local Mountain Information Network (MIN) reports on Avalanche.ca for regional observations and photos.

Photos: Avalanche.ca MIN reports