I watched a lot of the news coverage earlier this am. Every year we see snowmobiliers killed in avalanches like this even after the media blitz from the CAC (Canadian Avalanche Centre) the last few days warning of extreme conditions and to stay out of the back country all over BC.

We were to go hiking/snowshoeing this weekend into the back country, however we heeded the warnings that even our area has extreme avalanche conditions and decided to stay home.

This quote (from globeandmail.com) perhaps sums it up:

Mr. Burke said he chose not to go, because of the dangerous conditions in the mountains this weekend.

“It was high risk and just the other day it was extreme,” he said Saturday by telephone.

“I told everyone to shut the mountain down. ... Just how I've been riding and I've noticed a lot of slab avalanches and I've caused a lot of little stuff over the season and it's just progressively gotten worse.

“I told my mom to shut it down and don't have anything to do with this event because it's going to kick you in the ass.”