Avalanche Canada and Parks Canada have issued a Special Public Avalanche Warning for the area east of Prince George.
The warning applies to the majority of the B.C. Rocky Mountains, and stretches from the southern boundaries of Kokanee and Valhalla Provincial Parks south of Kamloops to Williston Lake north of the Pine Pass and Mackenzie. The warning was issued on Wednesday and is in effect until the end of Jan. 2.
A prolonged cold and dry start to the winter created a number of persistent weak layers in the snowpack, a statement issued by Avalanche Canada on Wednesday said. Recent snow and warm temperatures have destabilized the weak snowpack, making large human-trigged avalanches likely.
“The snowpack is currently in a precarious state,” Avalanche Canada senior forecaster Simon Horton said in a statement issued on Wednesday. “The storm cycles that hit western Canada over the past weekend added significant snow on top of an exceptionally weak lower snowpack. This has brought the conditions to a tipping point where dangerous avalanches are likely.”
Recreational backcountry users always check the avalanche forecast online before heading out, and should carry essential rescue gear - a transceiver, probe and shovel - and know how to use them.
Making conservative terrain choices can help reduce risk, the Avalanche Canada statement said. Stick to lower angle slopes and choose smaller objectives that minimize the consequence of an avalanche.
“While avalanche danger ratings may start to decrease as the weather improves, there will still be a chance of triggering a large avalanche," Horton added.
