WATERTON – Fresh, untouched powder lures outdoor enthusiasts to mountain areas like Waterton Lakes National Park – that is, when there is snow on the ground.
Tim Haggarty is the Visitor Safety Technician for the park, and says the snowpack is below average for this time of year.
“In the last few weeks we went through a drought and a lot of warm conditions and that has probably dragged it down below average to where in the town site we’ve had little to no snow.”
The lack of snow saw prescribed burns done last week, right before 100 millimeters of precipitation fell over the weekend.
“A lot of what should have been snowfall for us has actually come as rain at lower elevations and this, of course, very quickly erodes any snow pack that was down there,” adds Haggerty.
Daily data is collected from around the park, then entered into a database that is shared with the public.
“We put a great deal of effort into gathering information and public messaging so that people have a good experience in the park and they are provided with the information they need to make the right decisions, pick appropriate trips and objectives and come away smiling.”
The combination of rain and snow causes the snowpack to weaken, making it even more important for officials to provide timely information.
“We’re constantly monitoring the changing conditions, subtle weather changes over a short period of time can radically effect the snow pack and increase the avalanche hazard.”
The weekend blast has upped the avalanche risk to ‘considerable’ in some parts of the park, but with the right precautions, it remains an open canvas ready to be explored.
You can view the avalanche bulletin here.
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