Parts of B.C., Alberta and the Yukon are under avalanche warnings.
Avalanche Canada issued the warnings at 4 p.m. on Tuesday (March 17), ranging from a moderate risk at level 2 to high risk at level 4, with forecasts for the next two days going up to the highest level – extreme.
It’s been a deadly year so far for avalanche deaths in North America.
In Canada, there have been six deaths – all in the past month and all in B.C.
There was a snowmobiling fatality on Feb. 17 in Matheson Creek, a mechanized skiing death on Feb, 19 in Akolkolex River, a backcountry skiing death on Feb. 24 in Anniversary Glacier, a fatality on Feb. 27 in te Nakiska ski area and a snowmobiling death on Feb. 28 in the Kootenay Pass.
There have been 19 avalanche deaths in the U.S. since Jan. 5.
British Columbia
In B.C., several regions are currently listed under high risk for avalanches, that includes:
• In southwest B.C., including parks such as Manning Park, Garibaldi Provincial Park, Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux Heritage Provincial Park and Tsʼilʔos Provincial Park and areas such as Boston Bar, Lillooet, Whistler and Squamish, Pemberton
• Parts of the East Kootenays, including Fernie and south to the U.S. border
• From Nakusp, Revelstoke and Sicamous in the south, stretching all the way north to Mackenzie and Chetwynd and Prince George in the west to the B.C.-Alberta border
Large areas of Glacier National Park, including Rogers Pass, is closed for avalanche control as crews use explosives. Avalanche Canada has issued an extreme warning for Thursday, downgrading back down to high on Friday.
Parts of northern B.C., the south coast, the Kootenays and along the B.C.-Alberta border are under considerable avalanche risk – level 3.
• In the south coast, the eastern Fraser Valley, the North Shore mountains and along the coast north of Powell River
• Northwest B.C. from Kitimat in the south to Mount Edziza Provincial Park in the north and along the B.C.-Alaska border is under a considerable avalanche risk.
• In the Kootenays, from Grand Forks in the west to Cranbrook and Elkford in the east, south to the U.S. border and north almost to Golden.
And parts of the Thompson, Okanagan and Vancouver Island are listed as moderate risk for avalanches.
• From the U.S. border in the south and up north to Barriere in the west and the Shuswap in the east and from Okanagan Lake in the west to Granby Provincial Park in the east
• Much of Vancouver Island is listed as moderate risk for avalanches. It stretches from Youbou in the south, to Pacific Rim National Park on the west coast to just south of Port McNeill. The warning is in effect until Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Alberta
Along the B.C.-Alberta border and the Rocky Mountains are several areas at high risk of avalanches.
• Kananaskis Country is under a high avalanche risk through to Friday at 4 p.m. Mountain Time.
• Further north, Banff National Park is also under a high avalanche risk, but Avalanche Canada has upgraded that to extreme for Thursday and Friday.
• Jasper National Park is also at high risk of avalanches through to Friday.
• Kakwak Wildland Provincial Park and east to Grande Cache is currently at high risk of avalanches, but Avalanche Canada forecasts show it being downgraded to considerable risk – level 3 – by Friday.
Yukon
Along the B.C.-Yukon border, there are two areas listed at a moderate risk for avalanches.
• From Five Mile Creek in the south in B.C., north along Highway 3 close to Million Dollar Falls Campground
• Along the B.C.-Alaska border near Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in the southwest to Carcross in the northeast east