The Canadian Avalanche Centre has issued the earliest winter warning its forecasters can remember, advising that early winter weather has created dangerous conditions on B.C.'s coastal peaks.
The high-to-extreme-risk bulletins cover the North Shore mountains and the Sea-to-Sky corridor.
Forecaster Cameron Campbell says he has never seen such serious conditions at this point in the season.
"This is very early for these types of conditions. What we're seeing right now is often the type of conditions we see mid-January. It's quite a deep snow pack up there," he told CTV News.
Cold weather last week created a hard, unstable layer of snow, and storms on Sunday and Monday brought a heavy snow burden on top of that.
On the North Shore, the risk is highest on leeward and downwind slopes, but the danger is everywhere in the Sea-to-Sky region, where snow is accumulating on all slopes.
At Mount Seymour Ski Resort, which has yet to open for the season, snowshoers were undaunted by the warning.
Erin Cheng said he had checked with the Avalanche Centre and packed a transponder when he learned of the danger.
"I also left my itinerary with my housemate, just making sure they know where I am and what time to expect me to come home," he said. "The ultimate goal is to come back alive."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger
