Avalanche Canada on misconceptions about avalanches
Jeannette Rocher- 0
- 5 minutes read
A 46–year–old man from Magrath, Alberta is dead following an avalanche in the Crowsnest Pass on Sunday.
RCMP say two men and two children were riding snowmobiles in the back country between Carbondale and Castle Mountain when tragedy struck. One of the men was able to escape with the two children but sadly the other man was buried in the snow. His body was later recovered thanks to efforts by police and the Southwestern Alberta Regional Search and Rescue team.
According to Avalanche Canada the current avalanche risk is rated as HIGH at tree line and alpine level in the Rockies. Below that elevation, however, the risk is still considerable.
According to Tyson Rettie of Avalanche Canada, the fact that this latest avalanche incident involved snowmobiles really has no bearing on what may have triggered the avalanche.
“The noise produced by snowmobiles isn’t actually capable of triggering avalanches, um, sound, period actually can’t trigger avalanches,” says Rettie. “However it’s a very common misconception. And I often tell people the avalanche doesn’t care about your mode of travel, so whether you’re traveling on skies, you’re hiking, ice climbing, you’re on a snowmobile – that type of thing, uh that doesn’t significantly change the likelihood of being involved in an avalanche.”
Rettie goes on to say that what’s been driving the avalanche is there’s been quite a bit of new snow throughout the past 48-hours in many parts of BC and Alberta.
“So intense rates of precipitation will really drive up the avalanche hazard. The avalanche hazard is a product of the snow – the existing snow pack and mountain weather and so we have a layer buried in the top snowpack throughout most of the Rockies and the interior mountains that is a problematic layer and so new snow is adding to the load and the slab above that concerning layer,” he says.
Rettie adds that anyone heading out into the backcountry should be aware of the avalanche risk and to check online resources. He also says being trained through an avalanche skills training course could help save your life one day.
