'The year to be cautious': Avalanche safety expert weighs in on B.C.'s deadly avalanche season
Dangerous avalanche conditions in B.C.'s backcountry have turned deadly — with five people killed in the province this season alone.
Avalanche safety expert and associate professor at Simon Fraser University Pascal Haegeli joined CTV Morning Live Friday, to discuss the reason behind the deadly conditions.
"The issue is that we had the really shallow snowpack in the early season in early November, and then we had a really cold period…that changes the snow crystals in the snowpack and generally creates large crystals that have a hard time bonding to each other," Haegeli explained.
"So we basically now have this bed of marbles at the bottom of the snowpack and a solid snowpack overtop…that's just not a good setup for avalanche conditions."
Haegeli said this has been the worst avalanche season he's seen in more than two decades.
"It's predominantly in the Interior and the Rocky Mountains where it's been really challenging," he said. "Here on the coast, it's a little better. But I would still advise that this is probably not the winter to ski big lines or snowmobile in really big terrain…it's the year to be cautious."
Nelson Police Department Const. Wade Tittemore became B.C.'s first avalanche death of the season when he got caught up in one while skiing in the backcountry near Kaslo on Jan. 9. A second officer, Const. Mathieu Nolet was skiing with Tittemore at the time and was rushed to hospital with severe internal injuries. Nolet died nearly two weeks later.
Both officers were off duty when the avalanche occurred, and were experienced backcountry enthusiasts equipped with probes and beacons, according to the City of Nelson.
Another person died after two snowmobilers were caught in an avalanche near Valemount on Saturday. According to Avalanche Canada, one person managed to ride away from the avalanche, while the other was fully buried.
The latest avalanche deaths in the province occurred on Monday, when twin brothers Timothy and Jonathan Kinsley from the U.S. were heli-skiing near Revelstoke.
The pair was with a heli-skiing guide near Mount McCrae, in an area known as Chocolate Bunnies, when the avalanche struck and buried them in the snow.
Their guide, an employee of CMH Heli-Skiing, was hospitalized in stable condition.
“That should really be a sign to everybody…that even guides get caught,” Haegeli said, adding that those hoping to head out into the backcountry should be extra cautious.
"Just be aware that this is a very different winter. So don't rely on past experiences from past years of what's acceptable and what's not," he said.
Haegeli recommends that people check Avalanche Canada's forecasts before they head out, to avoid the possibility of getting caught up in an avalanche.
"The best thing to do is not to get into one in the first place," he said. "But if you are in one, try to protect yourself, try to get out as quickly as you realize that you're in one because once you're in an avalanche…you don't have any control of where you're going."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.