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Avalanche danger predicted to lessen in Boundary area

With this weekend’s three avalanche deaths in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park and Kananaskis Provincial Park, the need to check conditions before heading out is crucial.

John Kelly, operations manager at the Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC), said that predictions for the Boundary area and other areas are looking to get better than what was seen over the weekend.

“We’re at the end of the main thrust of warm air when you have rapid change in one of the main weather parameters of snow, temperature or wind,” Kelly said. “That usually provokes a spike in avalanche danger.”

Kelly said that is exactly what happened over the last five or six days. It was a period of prolonged avalanche danger for an extended amount of time, he said.

“We’re expecting that we’re on the downward side of that though and that conditions will heal up pretty nicely in the next few days, in particular in the Kootenay-Boundary region,” Kelly added.

He said that the weather pattern is now becoming more favourable.

“Already the avalanche danger has started to come down in the Kootenay-Boundary area.”

Kelly cautions that this is only a prediction at the current time and suggests checking the bulletin on www.avalanche.ca before heading out. The bulletin board has current information on local avalanche danger.

Over the weekend there was a heightened avalanche risk in the Kootenay-Boundary backcountry.