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A long-time backcountry skier says the avalanche conditions in the BC Interior are so severe this year, even seemingly gentle slopes could be dangerous.
Three heli-skiers from Germany were killed and four other people were injured in a slide in the vicinity of Panorama Mountain Resort, near Invermere on Wednesday morning.
“Right now I would be sticking to slopes that are no steeper than intermediate slopes. Because avalanches with this snowpack can potentially come down on slopes with an angle as low as 20 degrees,” said James Kohut, who has been backcountry skiing in Alberta and BC since 1974.
“A lot of people will say 25 to 30 degrees, but I’ve seen avalanches with these kinds of conditions at 20 degrees, and it’s pretty shocking when that happens.”
He calls the snow conditions this year exceptional. “Some of the more gentle terrain may be taking out some skiers. Terrain that people aren’t expecting to avalanche.”
Kohut agrees with Avalanche Canada’s assessment that the dangerous conditions will likely drag on for weeks or months.
So, are they bad enough that the province needs to step in, especially with spring break in a couple of weeks?
“Any decision to close a backcountry area would be informed by the advice provided by Avalanche Canada,” said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, in a statement to Castanet.
“Avalanche Canada continues to monitor very dangerous and highly unpredictable snowpack conditions. I urge everyone thinking of venturing into the backcountry to check avalanche.ca and seriously assess the conditions and terrain, and potentially consider delaying a backcountry trip until conditions are safer,” adds Ma.
The minister says that anyone heading out should stay away from steep terrain and pack essential gear, such as a transceiver, a shovel and a probe.
James Kohut says it has taken him decades to understand how the snow behaves. He’s had a few narrow escapes over the years.
“When you get experience, quite often you can just feel the snow under your skis to determine if it will avalanche or not, but not all cases.”
He adds that climate change is making it even harder to predict.
“Anything can happen and no slopes are absolutely safe from my experience.”
