Active Avalanche Period Over, But Take Care

By 250 News

Prince George, B.C. -  That is the message from the Canadian Avalanche Centre, to outdoor enthusiasts planning to head out into the backcountry in the interior regions...

Public Avalanche Warning Service Manager, Karl Klassen, says the recent very active period involved both storm snow and deeply buried persistent weak layers and, in some places, failures were going right to the ground -- removing the entire snowpack and destroying large stands of mature timber.

Klassen says we're now seeing mostly small surface avalanches, where a bit of new snow and wind have created localized slabs.  He says cooling temperatures over the weekend will likely further reduce avalanche activity, but warns the increased stability due to cooling will take a couple of days to fully take hold and human triggering of deep slabs remains possible.

"I continue to be concerned about deep instabilities in the snowpack," Klassen says.  "We are in what we call a 'low probability/high consequence scenario."  He says, in these situations, the weather is good, there are few natural-occurring avalanches, and the potential for human triggering is decreasing.  "But if you do manage to trigger an avalanche or if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time when a natural slide occurs, there's a chance it'll be a big one with serious consequences."

Klassen says the areas he's most concerned about are:

• North Rockies (north and east of Prince George, north of Highway 16 to Mackenzie, including areas around Tumbler Ridge, Chetwynd, the Kakwa and the Selwyn Range near Valemount)
• North Cariboos and North Monashees (immediately south of McBride, immediately west of Valemount and northwest of Blue River)
• East Selkirks and Purcells (west of Golden, west of Invermere)
• South Chilcotin Mountains (the area around Bridge River, Carpenter Lake, and Anderson Lake)

Klassen points out the random and isolated nature of potential big avalanches makes it difficult to provide specific information about where a problem might exist.  "Training, experience, and local knowledge are key factors in assessing hazard in these conditions."

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