© MOUNTWASHINGTON.CAMount Washington Alpine Resort webcam image from Monday, Feb. 23. The heavy snowfall forced the resort to temporarily suspend ski operations on Sunday morning. About 108 centimetres of new snow fell on the ski hill over 48 hours, creating “safety concerns,” according to the resort.
Officials are warning anyone heading into the backcountry to use extreme caution
after more than 100 centimetres of snow blanketed parts of Vancouver Island's mountain ranges over the weekend, creating a high avalanche risk.Avalanche Canada said snow sliding was at its highest danger level on Monday and could remain there through the week, depending on conditions.
The warning was issued for the mountain terrain from Lake Cowichan to Port McNeill. Several natural and skier-induced slides have already been reported in Strathcona Provincial Park.
Avalanche Canada forecaster Martina Halik said the new snow is burying a widespread hoar frost layer, creating "touchy avalanche conditions."
She said the fine crystallized hoar frost layer isn't immediately bonding with the new snow and can break under the load of heavy snowfall, creating a high hazard.
"That's the biggest problem right now," Halik said Monday. "This slab of storm snow on top of these feathery crystals creates persistent problems. We'll have to see what happens with this layer, but it's definitely going to take a few days to get it to bond.
