Avalanche Canada is now providing a regular forecast for the North Rockies.
The first was posted yesterday at www.avalanche.ca and they will be published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday this winter, the agency said in a statement.
"Producing forecasts for this region has long been a priority for us and thanks to a recent increase in federal funding, we are now able to make this happen," said James Floyer, a forecast program supervisor with AvCan.
The North Rockies region encompasses the Rocky Mountains from Highway 16 in the south to Hudson's Hope in the north, spanning the BC-Alberta border. It is a very popular destination for snowmobilers, and also sees some backcountry skiing.
It has also been the site of several notable avalanche incidents, including the 2016 Renshaw tragedy, when five snowmobilers died in a snow slide.
Over the past five winters, nine people have died in avalanches in the North Rockies region - 16 per cent of all avalanche fatalities in Canada during that time.
AvCan has a three-person field team working in the region. This team, which is modeled after our successful South Rockies field team, will collect snowpack information for AvCan forecasters in Revelstoke.
"Our field teams play a key role for forecasting in data-sparse regions like the North Rockies," said Floyer. "In addition to collecting snowpack data, they are able to make valuable connections with backcountry recreationists while working in the field, and showcase safe backcountry travel habits through social media."
