Snow blanket ‘precarious’
Photo: Avalanche Canada – stock photo
Backcountry users should be especially cautious in much of eastern BC due to weak snowpack layers.
Avalanche Canada issued a special public avalanche warning Wednesday for Columbia Mountains, Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National Parks, as well as the Northern Rockies. The notice is valid until January 2.
“The snowpack is currently in a precarious state,” said Simon Horton, Avalanche Canada senior forecaster. “The storm cycles that hit western Canada this past weekend added significant snow on top of an exceptionally weak underlying snowpack. This has brought conditions to a tipping point where they are dangerous avalanches likely.
“While avalanche danger ratings may begin to decrease as the weather improves, there will still be the potential for a large avalanche.”
Horton notes that the cold, dry start to the winter season created a series of persistent weak layers in the snowpack inland, and recent warming and heavy snowfall have destabilized the weak snowpack.
While the avalanche danger rating for much of eastern BC is ‘high’, the area covering the central and southern Okanagan is currently ‘considerable’.
“The snow that fell over the weekend has been affected by the warming trend that started on Monday. Warm temperatures and rainfall will have favored the formation of slabs. Wet and heavy snow will continue,” says the local region’s Avalanche Canada bulletin.
“Note that weak buried layers can become reactive if smaller avalanches are triggered above them.”
Horton recommends backcountry users stick to lower-angle slopes and choose smaller-sized targets to minimize the consequences of an avalanche.
Photo: Avalanche Canada
The area affected by Avalanche Canada’s special public avalanche warning