Snow and warm weather = high avalanche danger!
Posted Mar 7, 2012 1:55 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A warning to back country skiers, snowshoers and snowmobilers: be extra cautious while playing in the outdoors.
Brad White of Parks Canada tells 660News, this week’s weather adds up to extremely dangerous avalanche conditions.
“The storms we had this week just really loaded up this layer that formed around the early part of February,” says White. “So there’s a really slick slab that’s easily triggered, sitting on a very weak layer.”
“It might just take a tiny little trigger, a little bit more weight of a skier or a snowmobiler or a snowshoer to tip the scales and create that avalanche,” White adds.
History indicates that March is a bad month for snow slides.
“March tends to be the month where we have the most accidents,” says White. “The days are longer, people are trying bigger trips and it’s a little trickier. The sun has a lot of heat at this time of year as well. So when the sun comes out, it can create a problem.”
White’s advice to outdoor enthusiasts this weekend: stay away from areas that are prone to avalanches or haven’t experienced one lately.
Updates and more information are available at www.avalanche.ca.
