Had a chance to get out in the back country for a few hours early this morning. It is scarily dangerous out in the mountains today and it seemed like every breath, every small sound or any sudden movement would trigger an avalanche even though we were safely away from any imminent avalanche threat. Needless to say, we kept to the wider valleys and away from any steep slopes etc.

Today, the Canadian Avalanche Centre issued an almost unprecedented in scope, special avalanche warning (another link) that literally covers over 100,000 square miles. In my lifetime and with a few decades of outdoor experience, I cannot recall a warning encompassing such a vast area.

To give a sense of scale, Prince George mentioned in the above link, is roughly 470 miles from the Canada/USA border and about 450 miles inland from the Pacific coast.

Needless to say, even with the warnings, people will still be out and I would not be surprised at all to see some deaths reported in the next few days...