Avalanche danger warning issued for B.C. and Alberta backcountry users
A special avalanche warning has been posted for recreational backcountry users in several regions of B.C. and Alberta as warm temperatures make the snowpack unstable.
Avalanche Canada and Parks Canada have issued the advisory to take effect immediately and last through to Monday.
The warning applies to the North and South Columbias, Purcells, Kootenay Boundary, and Glacier, Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks.
It also applies to B.C.'s Sea-to-Sky region and South Coast Inland area from Squamish to Pemberton.
James Floyer, the forecasting program supervisor for Avalanche Canada, says there are weak layers in the mountain snowpack across most of southern B.C. and western Alberta.
He says the combination of the snowpack structure, sunshine and higher temperatures will make natural and human-triggered avalanches much more likely.
The forecasting agency says there have been several close calls reported recently including one last weekend in southeastern B.C. where a large avalanche buried all but the head of a snowmobiler and his companions were able to dig him out alive.
“There is a lot of uncertainty with these weak layers,” says Floyer. “While we have targeted an area where we think there is a higher risk of triggering these deep weak layers, we also urge backcountry users in adjacent regions to exercise caution during this warming period.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau calls violence in Montreal 'appalling' as NATO protest continues
Anti-NATO protesters gathered again in Montreal on Saturday to demand Canada withdraw from the alliance, a day after a demonstration organized by different groups resulted in arrests, burned cars and shattered windows.
7 suspects, including 13-year-old, charged following 'violent' home invasion north of Toronto
Seven teenage suspects, including a 13-year-old, have been arrested following a targeted and “violent” home invasion in Vaughan on Friday, police say.
These vascular risks are strongly associated with severe stroke, researchers say
Many risk factors can lead to a stroke, but the magnitude of risk from some of these conditions or behaviours may have a stronger association with severe stroke compared with mild stroke, according to a new study.
Widow of Chinese businessman who was executed for murder can sell her Vancouver house, court rules
A murder in China and a civil lawsuit in B.C. have been preventing the sale of multiple Vancouver homes, but one of them could soon hit the market after a court ruling.
Cher 'shocked' to discover her legal name when she applied to change it
Cher recalls a curious interlude from her rich and many-chaptered history in her new book 'Cher: The Memoir, Part One.'
Black bear killed in self-defence after attack on dog-walker in Maple Ridge, B.C.
A black bear has died following a brawl with a man on a trail in Maple Ridge, B.C.
Retiring? Here's how to switch from saving for your golden years to spending
The last paycheque from a decades-long career arrives next Friday and the nest egg you built during those working years will now turn into a main source of income. It can be a jarring switch from saving for retirement to spending in retirement.
Canadian neurosurgeons seek six patients for Musk's Neuralink brain study
Canadian neurosurgeons in partnership with Elon Musk's Neuralink have regulatory approval to recruit six patients with paralysis willing to have a thousand electrode contacts in their brains.
Police thought this gnome looked out of place. Then they tested it for drugs
During a recent narcotics investigation, Dutch police said they found a garden gnome made of approximately two kilograms of MDMA.