‘Considerable’ avalanche risk in mountains west of Calgary

Heavy snow and rising temperatures has made a mess in the mountains.

Skiers and snowboarders heading out this weekend will want to be cautious as the conditions have led to an increased risk of avalanche.

Avalanche Canada’s Josh Smith says there are a couple of concerns, starting with storm slabs.

“The new storm snow hasn’t yet bonded very well to the snow that it’s sitting on and, so, that’s a primary concern,” he explained.

He says the snowpack doesn’t respond well to rapid change.

“In the form of either increased load through rain or snow, or wind moving snow around and increasing the weight on the snow pack and then also a rapid rise in temperatures,” said Smith, who pointed out all three of those things either have happened or are happening now.

A secondary concern is weak sugar snow in more shallow areas.

Smith says anyone heading into the backcountry needs the minimum amount of avalanche gear.

“A transceiver, a shovel and a probe,” said Smith, adding he also recommends a balloon pack.

Still, Smith adds all the safety gear in the world may not save someone and the best thing they can do is get proper training on how to avoid triggering avalanches in the first place.

Conditions should be better by the end of the weekend with the risk from storm slabs dropping considerably, but the sugar snow will be a problem until the spring.