'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."