Avalanche warning issued for northern and inland B.C.

The Canadian Avalanche Centre has issued a special warning for the northwest coastal and inland regions.

The warning applies to areas that include Kitimat, Terrace, Stewart, Hazelton and Smithers.

An avalanche could be triggered by just the weight of a skier or snowmobiler, even on low-angle terrain, says Ilya Storm, forecast co-ordinator with the Canadian Avalanche Centre.

"What's special about this is that it extends into the alpine, so it's at high elevation," Storm said. "We're seeing surprisingly big avalanches with wide propagations and even remotely triggered avalanches."

The warning is in effect immediately and will carry into the weekend.

Storm says while the sunny weather this weekend may be inviting to skiers and snowboarders, he advises backcountry users in the area to be extra cautious.

Whistler-area avalanche a close call

On Tuesday, anavalanche at the Speahead Glacier near Whistler-Blackcomb caught a party of six off guard.

Ski coach John David Levine, whowas in that group,found himselfdigging his brother out from thesnow and ice.

His brother was unconscious for four minutes, and wasn't breathing properly for 20minutes, but was takenout by helicopter, and a concussion is so far theworst of his apparent injuries.

Still, Levine says it was a harrowing experience, and he is concerned for theother potentialavalanche victims.

"My concern is that so many skiers go in this area, and I just hope that they don't take it lightlyas lightly as I took it at least because it is so dangerous,"Levine said.

"You still are out-of-bounds, even though you feel like you're right there [on the patrolled mountain]."

Skiers warnedof tree wells

Skiers are also being warned to beware of tree wells this weekend after a 70-year-old man died while sking on Ferguson Mountain, north of Trout Lake andsoutheast of Revelstoke, B.C.

On Thursday afternoon,a California man travelling with the Great Northern Cat Skiing tour group fell into a tree well ahole created when deep snow accumulates around the base of a tree.

The other skiers pulled him out and performed CPR, but the man died at the scene, said Barb McLintock, spokeswoman for the B.C. Coroners Service.

"Tree wells are constantly a risk for skiers unless you're on a groomed run," she said.

McLintock said there are usually one to two tree well deaths in B.C. every year.

The B.C. Coroners Service and RCMP are now investigating thedeath.