Avalanche danger high as Vancouver Island ski season begins

Ski season is just around the corner on Vancouver Island but the Vancouver Island Avalanche Centre says caution is required.

Jan Neuspiel, lead forecaster with the centre, says a big dump of snow will tempt many into the backcountry where avalanche conditions are very risky.

"All this new snow, this storm snow, has weaknesses in it. It's come in great quantity and come with a lot of wind," he told All Points West host Robyn Burns.

"What we'd recommend is people stick to low-angle terrain, when they're in treeline or the alpine, or to forested terrain below treeline."

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Mount Washington, the Island's biggest ski destination, won't officially open until Dec. 9, but that won't stop many from heading out to enjoy the conditions this weekend.

Neuspiel says the centre won't have enough data to have a full avalanche forecast by this weekend, but during coming storms, the danger of them "is at a high level."

"Meaning that natural avalanches are likely and human-triggered avalanches are likely," he said, adding the danger will decrease between storms, but will still be there.

Neuspiel says recent years have seen fewer avalanche deaths on Vancouver Island despite increasing numbers of skiers and snowboarders, but his fear is that other groups like snowmobilers may not be getting the message about avalanche dangers.

With files from CBC Radio One's All Points West

To hear the full interview, click the audio labelled: Vancouver Island ski season begins as avalanche danger high