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Series of storms prompts Avalanche Warning for B.C.’s backcountry

Dec 14, 2018 | 12:13 PM

REVELSTOKE, B.C. – Avalanche Canada has issued a special public warning for backcountry users about the dangers of avalanche in several areas of British Columbia.

The agency says after a drought in late November and early December, the province has been hit with a series of storms with snow that isn’t bonding with the old surface.

Senior avalanche forecaster James Floyer says the main concern is that the weather is expected to clear on Saturday and backcountry users will want to get out to the alpine, but that’s where the danger is greatest.

He says there’s a weak layer of snow buried between 60 and 150 centimetres of new snow and any slide triggered will definitely be life threatening.

Avalanche Canada warns that skiers and borders leaving resort boundaries and snowmobilers riding above the treeline are in the greatest danger.

Regions of concern include: the Lizard Range, Flathead and Purcells within the East Kootenays, Kootenay Boundary, North Rockies, South & North Columbia, Cariboos, Vancouver Island, Sea-to-Sky, South Coast, South Coast Inland and Northwest Coastal. 

Avalanche Canada warns anyone accessing higher elevation terrain to be aware of this hazard. This means skiers and boarders leaving ski resort boundaries and snowmobilers riding at or above the treeline.

Everyone in a backcountry party needs the essential rescue gear—transceiver, probe and shovel—and know how to use it. And always check the current avalanche conditions at www.avalanche.ca.