Mountain safety specialists are reminding eager backcountry skiers and ice climbers that avalanches aren’t the only hazards to be aware of as the early season snowpack begins to accumulate in the Canadian Rockies.

“The glaciers are changing, they’re melting back,” said Burke Duncan, public safety specialist for Kananaskis Country. “At the end of this summer, some of the stuff was more gaping than usual. It’s important to remember, one year a section of glacier may be crevasse free, but a season or two later that may not be the case.”

And while the Wapta Icefield straddling Banff and Yoho National Parks has about one metre of snow sitting atop the glacier, Parks Canada public safety specialist Aaron Beardmore said it’s important to remember that crevasses can be lurking underneath with only weak bridges covering them.

This summer, for the first time, it was possible for mountaineers to traverse all the way from the Alpine Club of Canada’s Bow Hut to Peyto (Peter and Catharine White) Hut on bare glacier ice. While it’s common for all of last season’s snow to melt off the glacier tongues at lower elevations, it is not a common occurrence at higher elevations above 2500 metres.

“As each year goes by, we notice features on glaciers that were more significant than in past years,” Beardmore said. “Conditions are definitely trending toward getting worse every year. This year on the Wapta, the snow melted completely down to glacial ice. It’s going to expose crevasses some more.”

With all the firn snow (the line marking where the last season’s snow melts away leaving only old glacial ice) melted, skiers need to be extra cautious when travelling on the icefield, as it takes time and many snowfalls to fill in those crevasses.

“Skiers will definitely have to be on the lookout more,” Beardmore said. “That means digging the avalanche probe out of the pack and probing to check the snow depth will be worthwhile. This can be a time of year you want to pay extra attention to bridge strength and route selection.”

Careful route selection is key throughout the backcountry at this early point of the season, Beardmore added, as increasing winds earlier this week likely caused the formation of cornices and slabs.

“The places that look most inviting are probably the most dangerous right now. They’re the most susceptible to avalanches,” Beardmore said. “There will be times it will be reasonable to go to these places. We just have to wait until the time is right.”

The big message this time of year, advised both Beardmore and Duncan, is patience and caution.

At this point in time, Duncan said the Kananaskis snowpack was above average, but added that could change any minute as strong winds that have been transporting snow, forming cornices and loading gullies and creating dangerous terrain traps, are an ongoing factor these days.

“Those winds can change the loading pattern in no time,” Duncan said. “That loose dry snow can be easily transported. Conditions can change dramatically in half an hour, or an hour. We’re like a farmer, happy today, but we don’t know what tomorrow will look like.”

Both Parks Canada and Kananaskis Country public safety teams have begun posting regular avalanche bulletins. To check on current conditions for Banff, Yoho and Kootenay parks visit www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/visit/visit7a9_e.asp or for Kananaskis Country, go to http://tpr.alberta.ca/parks/kananaskis/backcountryreport.asp. For more avalanche bulletins, visit www.avalanche.ca.