Be warned: Avalanche risk in BC expected to rise this weekend

NORTH SHORE (NEWS 1130) – The avalanche danger in this province is expected to be high on Sunday, with a storm moving through. So, you need to be prepared if you plan on heading into the backcountry.

North Shore Rescue Team Leader Mike Danks is emphasizing the importance of planning your trip, telling someone where you’re going, and when you’re supposed to be back.

“If you are going to be going into the uncontrolled areas that are outside of the resort boundaries, you need to have your avalanche safety equipment with you and you need to be trained on how to use that equipment.”

He says there’s a lot of snow coming down on the North Shore mountains and there are also high winds in the area. “Any time that we have winter conditions in the backcountry, we really want to stress to people to be very cautious.”

“It really starts with planning your trip and making sure that trip is appropriate to your skill level.”

Danks says there are still a lot of people who are going into uncontrolled areas, and are “very naive to the dangers.”

“It might not be you that actually triggers the slide, but it might be caused by someone above you,” he points out.

On the local mountains, Danks says the risk of an avalanche is mitigated a bit. “But once you get outside those boundaries, that is not controlled anymore.”

“Even when the avalanche danger is lower, you still need to be aware that there is potential it can happen. It’s about choosing the right route… mitigating your risk, and always being very aware of your surroundings and looking for any signs of instability in the snowpack.”

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