Avalanche risk high on coast, North Shore

Avalanche forecasters are warning people to stay out of B. C.’ s coastal mountain backcountry due to dangerous snow pack conditions.

Danger ratings are listed as four out of five — or high — across several coastal regions including the North Shore, the Sea to Sky area, Whistler backcountry, South Coast inland and Vancouver Island, according to bulletins posted by the Canadian Avalanche Centre.

That means natural avalanches and human- triggered snow slides in those areas are likely to occur, said Shannon Werner, a public avalanche forecaster for the centre.

“We’re not recommending travel in avalanche terrain,” she said, explaining that fragile slabs of snow and ice have been getting covered with fresh snow pack, which could easily cause a slide.

Werner expects the dangerous conditions to last for at least three days as a storm front blasts the region with precipitation.

The dangerous conditions could last longer, she said.

“As the storm comes in, the slab builds with accumulative snow,” she said. “Once that layer reaches its threshold, it fails and the slabs will run.”

Rain is expected at elevations at or below 2,000 metres, said David Jones, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

Metro Vancouver could receive roughly 50 millimetres of rain on Tuesday, with the heaviest downpour coming in the North Shore mountains, he said.

“It’s nasty,” Jones said, but added that amount probably won’t cause too much trouble at lower levels.

The rising freezing level “is going to be crappy for the local [ ski] hills,” Jones said, but added that the wet storm front should move through the region quickly.

Up- to- date bulletins are available at www. avalanche. ca/ cac.