'A really dangerous recipe': Risk of avalanches in mountain parks amid new snow

Kananaskis Country, ALTA. -

Experts are warning outdoor enthusiasts they could be heading into dangerous conditions if they travel to Alberta's Rocky Mountains this weekend.

Areas west of Calgary saw more than 30 centimetres of snow fall over the last week, and though the entire province has been under an extreme cold warning in recent days, more seasonal temperatures are expected by Saturday and Sunday.

Matt Mueller, a mountain rescue specialist for Alberta Parks in Kananaskis Country, says backcountry skiers cannot seem to resist heading out when there's a blue sky.

"It's as if all the other risks and hazards just seem to evaporate and go away. At times like this, that can actually lead to problems. It's important to keep your eye on the ball, so to speak, and look at the mountains and what they're telling you."

The challenge in the Rocky Mountains this winter is that any new snow now is sitting on top of a weak base or basal layer.

"The way the fall shaped up in early winter is there was a snowfall in Western Canada, and then it was stagnant, nothing happened," said Mueller. "We had some cold snaps so that weak basal layer spread through all the ranges."

Darren Vonk is another mountain rescue specialist in Kananaskis Country, and says there is currently about a metre of fresh snow on top of that existing weak snow south of Canmore.

"Now we have this new fluff that makes the ski quality really good, but the problem is you have all that good snow on top of a house of cards," said Vonk.

"It's a really dangerous recipe."

Avalanche forecasters work seven days a week in the winter months, starting their day in the office looking at weather conditions and reading reports from neighbouring resorts. 

Vonk says once the office work is done, the team heads out to visually look for natural avalanche activity.

"You're seeing all this fresh pristine snow everywhere," he said. "Then you're seeing all this debris that's come down through the steeper gully features and all this wind rippling on all the higher snow peaks."

Mountain rescue specialists dig snow pits all around the park to see how deep the snow is and the different layers, because every winter poses different challenges.

"There's some years when we can really open it up and ski those more aggressive lines. The snow pack's in our favour, the weather's in our favour," he said. "This is not one of those years, We're having a poor year and the snowpack will be back next year and we may have better conditions and it'll be time to put those objectives into play when the snowpack allows."

Mueller says anyone planning on a back country trip needs to check the Avalanche Canada website for the latest conditions where they're headed. And he says more importantly, be prepared not to tackle steep slopes that could be dangerous.

"Avoiding is critical," he said. "It is different, it doesn't mean we have to stay home, it just means we have to do a bit more research and be really careful with the terrain we choose to use."

Vonk says even snowshoers have to be aware of their surroundings and always look up from the valley bottom.

"We have really great snowshoe options that are down in the meadows away from any overhead hazard," said Vonk.

"Anytime you're leaving the trees and you have slopes rising up above you, you should give thought."