I have been hoping for confirmation before sending a note but have not received anything from the horses’s mouth. However, if true this is worth noting.
I recently received a second hand report of an avalanche in the Bull River drainage in Cranbrook area of the South Rockies. The report indicated kayakers made a run on the river and when they returned for a second run, an avalanche had come down from above and hit the river in the meantime. This would have occurred last weekend or earlier this week. If this is correct, it would support the notion that it’s still game on in terms of avalanches and even dry valley bottoms can still be affected in some places at some times.
I must stress I do not have first-hand confirmation of this nor do I have any details about exact location, time, aspect, terrain feature, etc. I wonder if it’s similar to an incident reported around May 11th in the same area. You can see a photo of the May 11th avalanche here: http://www.avalanche.ca/uploads/gallery/5/Picture_024.jpg. I wish I could be more specific but other than a general heads up, I can’t really provide more detailed information that might help you manage this potential risk.
If anyone has more information about this incident, please contact me. If you know the folks involved, please encourage them to contact me or submit an incident report here: http://www.avalanche.ca/cac/bulletins/incident-reports/submit
Karl Klassen – Mountain Guide/Public Avalanche Warning Service Manager
Canadian Avalanche Centre
P.O. Box 2759 | 110 Mackenzie Ave.
Revelstoke, BC Canada | V0E 2S0
kklassen@avalanche.ca | www.avalanche.ca | Skype: karlklassen
Phone: 250.837.2141 ext. 227 | Mobile: 250.814.3756 | Fax: 250.837.4624