Rare extreme avalanche warning issued for Sea-to-Sky region

The organization that monitorsavalancherisk across much of British Columbia has issued an uncommon "extreme'' warning for many slopes in the Sea-to-Sky region just north of Vancouver.

AvalancheCanada says in a statement that it "rarely sees'' extremeavalanchedanger and its website indicates largeavalanches are "almost certain'' on alpine and treeline sections of slopes in the region that includes Whistler and Garibaldi Provincial Park.

The website says between 40 centimetres and a metre of new snow, coupled with strong wind and warming temperatures will "cause a naturalavalanchecycle.''

The risk level is rated as high below the treeline, meaning very dangerousavalancheconditions exist and travel inavalancheterrain is not recommended.

Those risks are expected to remain for the Sea-to-Sky mountains through Saturday andAvalancheCanada says high risk ratings were also in effect Friday for several mountain ranges from the northwest coast to the Alberta boundary.

Two 21-year-old Alaska men died Monday when they were hit by an avalanchewhile snowboarding with a friend in Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park in the far northwestern corner of B.C.