The Canadian Avalanche Centre is urging caution as snowmobilers and other backcountry enthusiasts head into the hills and mountains this weekend.
As of Tuesday, the CAC was predicting moderate risk of avalanche in the Cariboo, Monashee and Selkirk mountains at the alpine and tree levels and noted recent avalanche activity has been isolated sloughs of storm snow.
But forecaster Matt Peter said strong, persistent southerly winds have created wind slabs in exposed areas at tree line and in the alpine.
"Around 25 to 50 centimetres of storm snow, which was initially very light, has buried a recent layer of surface hoar," he wrote in a web posting. "In the mid-pack there is a suncrust-surface hoar combination on steep southerly slopes.
"This is buried between 100 and 130 cm and gives hard to very hard sudden results."
He advised sledders to keep an eye out for steep, open south-facing slopes where lower crusts exist, particularly in thin snow areas, wind-loaded pockets below ridge crests and convex rolls in exposed terrain and terrain traps that increase the consequence of a small avalanche.
"If you suddenly feel your sled riding high on a mountain climb, you're probably on wind slab and you'd be wise to gently ease off and think about turning round," he wrote. "Try to anticipate where thin spots on the slope may be. The crest of convex rolls are a good bet, as are slopes where you can see rocky outcrops. These spots are common trigger points for deeper layers.
"As always, group up well away from avalanche terrain, even if it obscures your view of other riders a little. One at a time on the slope."
Three snowmobilers have died in recent accidents around the province.
And a 44-year-old Prince George man was killed Sunday when he collided with a tree on an island in Eena Lake, about 30 kilometres northeast of Prince George.
The latest victim, a 43-year-old man from Maple Ridge, B.C., was with 11 others exploring a network of trails near Coquihalla Lake, 60 kilometres north of Hope.
The victim was swept off a mountainside by the avalanche around noon Tuesday.
On Monday, a 44-year-old man from Elko near Fernie, B.C., in the southeastern corner of the province, died when his sled hit a ramp used by off-road cyclists in the summer.
The impact was so hard it shattered his helmet.
Names of all three victims have not yet been released.
Also on Tuesday, a snowmobiler sledding through new-fallen, backcountry snow found himself plunging, tumbling and sliding 30 metres into an abandoned, open mine shaft near Creston.
But seven hours after the sledder crested a hill to see the gaping hole too late to stop himself from being swallowed, Ken Gadicke, 53, of Creston, was in an ambulance with only a few broken bones, thanks to his two sledding companions and a team of search and rescuers.
The Prince George Snowmobile Club spokesman Damian Pighin said area hillsides and lakes have been full of snowmobilers this holiday season.
He has not heard any talk among the club's 300 members about the fatalities and preseason courses on avalanche and snowmobile safety have been conducted already.
But if the numbers warrant, he said more courses could be offered through the club in the new year to members and nonmembers alike.
"It's all based on demand, we gather up a dozen or more people and then we hold a course," Pighin said.
Those interested can contact Pighin at damian@pgproperty.ca.
- with files from Canadian Press
