Avalanche conditions in Sea to Sky country dicey this weekend
Posted December 12, 2015 9:01 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WHISTLER (NEWS 1130) – The avalanche danger in is relatively low on the local mountains despite a week of wet storms. But heavy snow for the Sea to Sky country tomorrow could lead to a dangerous end to the weekend.
There are no slide warnings up for the Coastal Mountains, however, Karl Klassen with Avalanche Canada says today’s storm can form wind slabs on the hills that can be risky for people in the backcountry.
“So that means during the storms when it’s snowing and blowing hard and the temperatures are warm you’re going to have a spike in avalanche danger. And then shortly after the storm ends and things clear up and things cool off a bit then it settles down and bonds relatively quickly, so within a day or two after a storm ends the danger ratings drop right back down again.”
And he adds things can change with each passing weather pattern.
“Sunday, there is another storm coming through that’s going to drop a bunch of snow and have a bunch of wind associated with it so you might actually see a higher danger rating on Sunday. But by Monday or Tuesday things will start to settle down again.”
The avalanche warning in central BC is between Penticton, Nelson and Williams Lake with people told to avoid steep and open areas in mature timber.
