Avalanche Canada stops warning service early, asks people to stay out of the backcountry

Avalanche Canada has announced an early end to its avalanche warning service due to COVID-19 concerns.

On Tuesday, the agency released its final three-day forecast of the season, about a month earlier than normal.

The latest forecast will remain in effect until March 30, after which people are being asked to refrain from recreating in the backcountry.

We've made the difficult decision to issue our final forecast for the season on March 28. The MIN will also shut down on March 30. The final forecast will be valid until March 30.

Find out more: https://t.co/SeQxh3qHOm pic.twitter.com/uamNS89kCa

— Avalanche Canada (@avalancheca) March 24, 2020

“We do not want to provide a service that promotes recreating in mountainous terrain, where there is often significant hazard,” explains Executive Director Gilles Valade.

“Both BC and Alberta have declared a state of emergency. Our health authorities, as well as our Prime Minister, are urging people to stay home. This is clearly not the time for taking any sort of risk.”

Avalanche Canada will also be shutting down the Mountain Information Network (MIN), an online platform allows backcountry users to submit trip reports and observations from the field.

According to the agency, during normal times, the MIN is a highly successful strategy for exchanging real-time information.

However, as with the forecasts, Avalanche Canada does not want MIN reports to serve as encouragement to go into the backcountry.

“We do not take these steps lightly,” adds Valade.

“Avalanche Canada is the national public avalanche safety organization and we take our responsibilities very seriously. But we feel it is essential that we work together and do what we can to avoid putting any extra load on our healthcare system at this time.”