Avalanche Canada is continuing to advise caution for backcountry enthusiasts heading out into the mountains this weekend.
"The record warm temperatures are still our main concern," the agency's warning service supervisor, James Floyer, said Friday in a press release.
"While the coastal regions and the Yukon is starting to cool down, we are still expecting a lot of solar radiation in the interior, which will continue to have a destabilizing effect on the snowpack."
A warning issued earlier this week has been scaled back in terms of the area it covers but still includes the North Rockies, Cariboos, North and South Columbias, Purcells and the Kootenay-Boundary.
As the day warms up, backcountry users in these regions are urged to stay away from avalanche terrain.
"Start your trips in the morning when it's still cold and before sun rises," Floyer said. "Your best risk management strategy in these conditions is to be out of avalanche terrain by the early afternoon at the latest."
For a video explaining how the warm weather affects the snowpack, click here.
Everyone in a backcountry party needs to have an avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel. A two-day avalanche skills training one course is the minimum training recommended for travelling in avalanche terrain.
For current conditions, check www.avalanche.ca.
