Special avalanche warning ZZ

It's been such an unusual winter that we haven't had to mention snow conditions
very much.  Spring-time is often when large avalanches occur as the winter
snowpack weakens. However, a recent incident shows that the current conditions
are highly unusual for the Coast Mountains.

At the weekend, a large avalanche in the Brandywine area caught out two
snowmobilers and took them for a several hundred-metre ride. Thankfully neither
was injured but it brought to light a significant issue with the coastal
snowpack right now. The avalanche was up to a metre deep at the crown, the
result of the recent storms and was sitting on a persistent weak layer, left
behind after the long period of dry weather. This has made the snowpack highly
susceptible to large avalanches - class 3 (which can destroy a car) or even
class 4. Even worse, they can be triggered remotely - in other words, you could
set off a slide that affects other people, but not you.

Here's the report and a photo to give you an idea of the terrain and size of the
avalanche:
http://www.avalanche.ca/share/bi ... c-9c6d-4a152efb23e8

The latest forecaster blog entry discusses the snowpack and highlights just how
tricky the conditions are out there right now:
http://www.avalanche.ca/blogs/VR ... es-been-a-string-of

Avalanche Canada has reported on this incident and issued a special warning for
several areas, including the Sea-to-Sky forecast region:
http://www.avalanche.ca/news/VRHTjCUAADQcpVdL/spaw-150324

The CBC has just reported on this announcement:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/br ... -interior-1.3009021

All backcountry users are urged to take extreme care with assessing the
conditions, and provide as much feedback as possible by reporting your findings
on the Mountain Information Network. Install the Avalanche Canada app on your
Android or iOS phone and provide real-time reports, or use the Avalanche Canada
website at the end of the day.