A remote-controlled avalanche (Photo courtesy of Frozen Pirate Snow Services)
Avalanche Canada put out a special avalanche warning last week as snowpacks in Alberta and Western Canada start to destabilize due to dramatic temperature increases.
The warning was issued for Thursday, April 27 to Monday, May 1.
Tyson Rettie, a forecaster with Avalanche Canada, talked about the rapid warmth throughout the Rockies that led to the warning and how it would subside.
“Later, we start to see some more active weather coming in off of the coast and freezing levels are likely to subside a little bit. The avalanche warning will trend downward along with that,” he says.
Avalanches can’t be forecasted like the weather, according to Rettie.
“You can have a pattern where it’s low-hazard first thing in the morning while things are cool. And then as soon as you get to the peak of the warming during the day, avalanche hazards rise significantly,” he says.
Avalanche safety is very important to Rettie. He says that Avalanche Canada “strongly encourages people to take avalanche skills training courses so they understand the material provided to them through an avalanche forecast that we write.”
“Getting the education, getting the gear, and getting the forecast before heading out is some of the most important things to do to stay safe in avalanche terrain,” Rettie says.
More information on avalanche forecasts can be found on Avalanche Canada’s website.
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