Avalanche warning issued for Yoho, Kootenay parks due to 'highly volatile' conditions

Brenna Owen · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 21, 2025 12:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Avalanche Canada is informing backcountry users of unsafe conditions passim the province as we caput into the weekend.

The bureau has issued a peculiar nationalist informing for the cardinal Rockies saying determination person been respective ample avalanches implicit the past 2 weeks.

It says 2 slides person been fatal and the snowpack "remains primed for human-triggering."

The informing covers Yoho and Kootenay parks in B.C., arsenic good arsenic Banff and Jasper nationalist parks and the Kananaskis country successful Alberta.

The bureau says anemic layers person been buried nether up to 90 centimetres of snowfall dumped by caller storms, with much caller snowfall connected the way.

Natural avalanche enactment is opening to taper off, but it says the tempest snowfall volition perpetuate "an unstable and highly volatile situation."

WATCH | Skiers, snowmobilers asked to proceed with caution:

Elsewhere in B.C., an bureau representation shows the information standing astatine level 4 retired of 5 crossed the seashore mountains and Sea to Sky area, including Squamish, Whistler and the Fraser Valley, arsenic good arsenic E.C. Manning Park.

The information is besides ranked astatine level 4 successful mountains connected the westbound seashore of Vancouver Island and successful the Stewart country connected the northbound coast.

In the Kootenay region, the information is ranked astatine level 3 oregon "considerable."

The peculiar nationalist informing for the cardinal Rockies notes avalanches whitethorn beryllium triggered from a distance, and warming, sunny upwind and storms summation the likelihood of a descent being triggered.

It says radical heading into the backcountry should take low-angle terrain without overhead hazards.

Snowfall warnings from Environment Canada country besides successful effect for B.C. on the Coquihalla Highway betwixt Hope and Merritt and Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton.

The upwind bureau says 20 to 30 centimetres of snowfall is expected successful some areas earlier easing Friday night.

A peculiar upwind connection is besides successful effect for Highway 3 betwixt Paulson Summit and the Kootenay Pass, wherever " a important magnitude of snow" could accumulate passim the time Friday and into the evening.

Environment Canada is reminding travellers that upland upwind tin alteration suddenly. Current conditions tin beryllium recovered connected the DriveBC website.