Keep an eye on avalanche conditions despite warmer temperatures
Posted March 18, 2017 1:50 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It may be getting warmer, but Avalanche Canada is reminding you to keep an eye on conditions if you’re heading up to the mountains this weekend.
“I think that because we’re still expecting natural avalanches in many parts, at higher elevations people should be really choosing conservative lines”, says forecaster Ilya Storm with Avalanche Canada.
He says we’ve been experiencing a stormy pattern of weather lately… and despite a rise in temperatures around the South Coast, you shouldn’t assume that means risks are gone in the backcountry.
“It’s warmed up a bunch, so lower elevations in the mountains are getting rain”, he says, but stresses that precipitation is still falling as snow as you move higher up in elevation.
Avalanche Canada says keeping an eye on new snow, warmer temperatures, and snowfall mixed with wind is important since these conditions can create instability in the snowpack.
Storm says you should exercise extreme caution when entering areas where wind has been blowing over snow surfaces, where snow is concentrated or where snow has drifted behind ridges and created a weak surface.
Snow says to keep an eye on conditions daily, as they can change drastically from one day to another.
