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Avalanche Bulletin - 2026-01-13

More snow than expected and signs of instability observed on Monday. On Tuesday, we can expect to find recent wind slabs that are still reactive.

Areas concerned: Mont Albert, Mont Ernest-Laforce, mont Hog's Back, Champs-de-Mars, mont Lyall, mont Vallières-de-Saint-Réal, mont Blanche-Lamontagne et Mines-Madeleine

Issued on: 2026-01-12 @ 17:00, Valid until: 2026-01-13 @ 18:00

Danger ratings	Tuesday, Jan 13	Wednesday, Jan 14	Thursday, Jan 15
Alpine	3 - Considerable	2 - Moderate	2 - Moderate
Treeline	2 - Moderate	2 - Moderate	2 - Moderate
Below Treeline	1 - Low	1 - Low	1 - Low

Travel advice :

Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind-exposed terrain.
Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been affected by wind.

Avalanche problem #1 : Wind slab
What Elevation?	Which Slopes?	Chances of Avalanches?	Expected Size?

Plenty of snow still available for transport by westerly winds. Wind slabs will continue to form beneath ridges and convexities in alpine terrain and in areas of lateral loading at the forest boundary.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches reported or observed. Many signs of instability (cracking) observed by the field team.

If you head into the backcountry, thanks for sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Snowpack Summary

On average, 20 to 25 cm of light snow fell on the area during the last storm. Areas closer to the St-Lawrence in the north, such as the Madeleine mines, received more snow than those further south.

In sheltered terrain, this new snow lies on a gradually denser layer down to the refrozen crust of 20 December. In places, a weaker layer of faceted grains lies just above this crust.

Strong winds, shifting from south to east to northwest, have created great variability in the alpine zone and near the tree line, where there are bare areas as well as hard wind slabs, compacted snow and softer recent slabs.

The average snow depth at mid-mountain is approximately 110 cm.

Weather Summary

WEATHER FOR THE CHIC-CHOCS RIDGES AND PEAKS

Cloudy on Tuesday before a low-pressure system moves in on Wednesday, bringing mild temperatures and snow to our forecast area.

Monday evening and overnight: Cloudy, light snow. West wind, 30 to 50 km/h. Low -15.

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy. South-westerly wind, 30 to 50 km/h. High -7.

Wednesday: Intermittent snow, 3 to 5 cm. Southwesterly wind, 20 to 40 km/h. High -3. Freezing level at 450 m.

Thursday: Intermittent snow, 5 to 10 cm. Light southeasterly wind. High -2. Freezing level at 500 m.

For more details, see the Chic-Chocs alpine weather forecast.

Confidence - Moderate

Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.