Avalanche Canada is telling winter sports enthusiasts that current conditions could easily trigger deadly avalanches.
The agency has listed the danger level as "considerable" to "high" in many parts of B.C., which could make visiting the mountains potentially life threatening.
"It's a tricky time right now because we've gone through this big long drought, this dry period that lasted almost three weeks. What that did was, it kind of ruined the top of our snowpack and it's lost a lot of strength and now we've been in our first major storm of the season," said Ilya Storm with Avalanche Canada.
The agency has issued warnings for Sea to Sky and the South Coast regions, which advises people to stick to simple terrain. It cautions people that even at lower elevations, there could be a possibility of an avalanche if backcountry users are around avalanche paths.
For the Northwest Coastal and South Coast Inland regions, it forecasted snow and storms could drive the avalanche hazard in the coming days.
"Just the weight of a skier or a snowmobiler would be enough to trigger an avalanche," Storm said. "If you don't have advanced skills and training and experience, it's a good time to just avoid avalanche terrain."
Adventurers are advised to have the proper equipment – such as transceiver, probe and shovel – and check the avalanche forecast before going into the backcountry.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Breanna Karstens-Smith
