Search and Rescue Alberta urge precaution in the Rockies
Posted Jan 30, 2016 9:20 pm.
Last Updated Jan 31, 2016 10:15 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Search and Rescue Alberta says avalanches are on the rise this season, with the number of slides that seem to be out of the norm. President Shane Elder says with the warm weather, and even some rain in the B.C. slopes, it creates an icy layer over the mountains.
“It creates a crystalline layer. And the struggle with that is, if we get a foot of snow on top of that, those are prime conditions for avalanche. So in Alberta right now we’re actually under the same conditions, and we’re primed in some areas to have that kind of avalanche situation as well,” says Elder.
He says search and rescue teams could only go so far with sleds and helicopters before they start hiking, and there’s only so much time before dark and the situation becomes more harmful for responders. He’s urging people to be prepared when heading out in the back country. The first thing to do is bring a GPS system or some form of communication.
“Second to that, is does the team ability to do some self rescue? So if they don’t had that, or they haven’t done self preparing, plus they haven’t let people know what areas they are going — I would say it could take up to weeks to realize what areas they’ve gone into,” says Elder.
He also recommends taking a recreational avalanche course.
