Series of large avalanches in Banff area a growing concern for Parks Canada – Calgary

The potential for a series of large avalanches in the Banff area is a growing concern for Parks Canada.

According to Aaron Beardmore, a visitor safety specialist with Parks Canada, the mountains currently have a snow base consisting of 20 centimeters of weak, sugar-rich facets with about 60 centimeters of newer snow on top in the form of a slab.

He says that due to “benign” weather conditions with very little wind, little snow and seasonal temperatures, there were not many natural avalanches.

“There have been some slightly smaller-in-size, human-triggered avalanches and when a human interacts with them, they cause that slab that sits on top of that weak snow.”

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Beardmore’s biggest concern right now is whether there has been a significant snowfall in the Banff area that he believes could potentially trigger a widespread avalanche cycle.

“We’re still somewhat early in the season – it’s not even Christmas yet. (We) still have three months of winter so it’s going to snow eventually, and when that happens we’ll be on high alert,” he said.

Parks Canada has partnered with Avalanche Canada to launch a new public bulletin system on avalanche.ca that can inform people about the changing conditions and potential for an avalanche.

According to Parks Canada, this will allow them to communicate avalanche conditions more effectively.

“The new software makes the forecast piece for Parks Canada forecasters much more efficient, up to date, contemporary – it’s great. Our forecasters see improved efficiency there,” Beardmore said.

Tyson Rettie, an avalanche forecaster with Avalanche Canada, said this latest system will allow forecasters to tailor the forecast and data to the public on specific areas of a region rather than listing the entire region itself with the same classification.

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“This allows us to just draw the map on a daily basis to best represent the message of any avalanche hazard to the public,” Rettie said.

As of Tuesday evening, Banff and other southern parts of the Rockies were classified as having significant conditions due to the weak snow base on the mountain.

Rettie said this classification can be a challenging description of the current conditions, because an avalanche may not be triggered in one area, but may be in another.

“It’s not as black and white as high or extreme or low. In fact, most avalanches in western Canada occur during the time of the significant rating,” he added

Both Parks Canada and Avalanche Canada encourage people to plan ahead and be prepared for anything before heading to the mountains.

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