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‘Dangerous’ avalanche hits Big White Mountain

‘That’s a big avalanche — you don’t mess around with that’
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Big White Ski Resort is warning the public about a sizable avalanche that occurred on a cliff overnight.

“It’s dangerous. When we closed the resort, we stopped throwing hand-bombs. There’s no more blasting to take place to make the area safe where people can ski and snowboard. We stopped doing them the day we closed,” said Michael J. Ballingall, senior vice president of Big White Ski Resort.

The resort took it to Facebook Tuesday morning, announcing the size two avalanche. According to Avalanche Canada, size two avalanches can bury, injure or even kill a person.

“That’s a big avalanche — you don’t mess around with that,” said Ballingall

Big White also reminded the public that snowmobiles are not permitted within the resort’s controlled regional area. The resort posted a picture outlining snowmobile tracks on the mountain.

Posted by Big White Ski Resort on Monday, April 19, 2021

Ballingall adds that his team has also seen foot tracks from people walking their dogs and snowshoe prints. Anyone doing any recreational activity on the mountain right now is doing it at their own risk because Big White is not implementing any of its regular safety protocols.

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