Special avalanche warning extended in Rocky Mountains west of Calgary

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Whereas a particular avalanche warning issued for giant swaths of Alberta and B.C. was to lapse at finish of day Thursday, the alert has been prolonged within the Rocky Mountains west of Calgary.

Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay nationwide parks, together with Kananaskis Nation, will proceed to be topic to the warning till March 10.

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Avalanche forecasters are expressing renewed concern concerning the potential for snow slides as a sunnier sky and hotter temperatures work together with weaker snow layers constructed up during the last month, now buried 40 to 100 centimetres deep.

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“The persistent weak layers that we’ve been monitoring via February stay very energetic and straightforward to set off,” mentioned Avalanche Canada forecast program supervisor Ryan Buhler in an announcement issued late Thursday afternoon. “Any avalanche triggered on these weak layers shall be massive sufficient to injure and will even kill an individual.”

Mountain ranges alongside the Alberta-B.C. border west of Calgary had earlier been cited as an space of specific concern. Backcountry customers have been urged to keep away from areas uncovered to overhead terrain, Avalanche Canada mentioned, and stick with smaller, lower-angled slopes.

Backcountry customers in mountainous terrain are urged to take precautions and keep knowledgeable concerning the newest forecasts and situations. Carrying important rescue gear and figuring out find out how to use it’s also vital, the company mentioned.

In the meantime, out of doors lovers in areas the place the particular avalanche warning is to be rescinded have been reminded to train continued warning.

“The weak layers (of snow) that triggered the avalanche warning aren’t going away,” Avalanche Canada forecaster Ian Snowsell informed Postmedia on Wednesday.

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“They’re going to stay an issue for the foreseeable future,” he mentioned. “The avalanche hazard’s not gone simply because the particular avalanche warning is.”

Avalanches have been reported day by day on the slopes of Alberta and B.C. because the preliminary, wider avalanche warning was issued on Feb. 29, Snowsell mentioned.

Two avalanche fatalities have been reported within the Rockies over the previous couple of weeks.

One particular person was killed on March 3 close to Revelstoke when a member of a bunch of snow bike riders was caught in an avalanche at Sale Mountain.

These within the group and others close by shortly pulled the person from the snow however, as they have been performing CPR, a second avalanche got here down and buried some snowmobiles, Avalanche Canada mentioned on the time.

Revelstoke RCMP confirmed {that a} 58-year-old man from Alberta was taken to hospital by helicopter and later died of his accidents.

Avalanche Canada mentioned each slides have been brought on by snow sitting on weak layers fashioned in early February.

On the earlier weekend, a Lethbridge dentist was killed when his snowmobile was caught in a snow slide at Citadel Mountain Ski Resort in Citadel Wildland Provincial Park.

There have been 4 avalanche fatalities in Canada thus far this season, Snowsell mentioned.

— With recordsdata from The Canadian Press

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