The
CAC has issued special public avalanche warnings for both of the previous two
weekends. We are considering issuing a third warning for the coming weekend and
will make the decision later this week. Regardless of whether a special warning
is issued, I thought I should give everyone a heads up on conditions.
The
snowpack will remain highly unstable in many of BC?s interior mountain ranges
through the coming weekend. Areas affected include mountainous backcountry
terrain in:
·
The North Rocky Mountains
north and east of Prince George, including the mountains around:
o
Mackenzie.
o
Pine Pass.
o
Chetwynd.
o
Tumbler Ridge.
o
Kakwa Recreation
Area.
·
The Columbia Mountains
(Cariboo, Selkirk, Monashee, and Kootenay Ranges) from Prince George south to
the US border between:
o
Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100
Mile House, Kamloops, and the Okanagan Valley on the west, and
o
the Kootenay River, Columbia
River/Kinbasket Lake, and Fraser River on the east.
·
The South Coast
Mountains:
o
North and east of
Pemberton.
o
West of Lilloet and
Lytton.
The
upper 100cm of the snowpack has up to five or six embedded weak layers, all of
which are buried and out of sight. Any of these layers alone would present a
significant challenge but in combination they have produced an extremely complex
avalanche problem. These layers are proving to be exceptionally persistent?they
have been very active for over two weeks and show no signs of improvement. In
fact, conditions are becoming trickier and more complex every day.
Avalanches are starting naturally with minor changes in
weather such as light accumulations of new snow, winds blowing a bit of snow
around, warm temperatures, or even just sun shining on a slope when clouds break
for a short period. The CAC is receiving daily reports of sledders, skiers, and
snowboarders triggering avalanches, often from very low angle terrain (as flat
as 15-20 degrees) and sometimes from as far as 50 ? 100 metres away.
There is no indication avalanche activity is abating. In
recent days, avalanche sizes have been increasing. Slides big enough to demolish
a pickup truck (size 3) are now
occurring regularly. A recent report described avalanches 1000 metres across and
running 1000 metres down-slope. These events are not survivable if you are
caught in one you trigger yourself, or if one is triggered above you and it runs
you down.
Extensive experience and professional level safety
procedures and guidance are required to manage the current avalanche risk.
Backcountry recreationists are urged to stay away from avalanche terrain until
the snowpack becomes more stable. If you go into the mountains, you can reduce
the chance of an avalanche accident by:
·
Staying within ski area
boundaries.
·
Cross-country skiing at or
near the valley bottom.
Unless there?s a significant change in weather, the
problem will likely persist into the following week, through next weekend, and
perhaps longer. Look for up to date information about avalanche safety,
education, and conditions at: www.avalanche.ca.
Please feel free to forward or repost this message
freely.
You
can send observations, photos, or comments to: forecaster@xxxxxxxxxxxx, 250-837-2141 ext. 230.
You
can contact me directly at: kklassen@xxxxxxxxxxxx, 250-837-2141 ext. 227.
Karl
Klassen
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Public Avalanche Bulletins Manager
Canadian Avalanche Centre,
Revelstoke