This weekend marks the first time Avalanche Canada will publish avalanche forecasts for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Avalanche Canada’s NL Field Team leader, Andy Nichols, who is based on the west coast, says it’s part of a pilot project to map and identify avalanche potential in the backcountry and other areas where they may be triggered.

The pilot project primarily covers the entire west coast of the island including the Northern Peninsula.

More and more people are involved in outdoor winter activities including snowmobiling, snowboarding, skiing and snowshoeing – making such forecasts all the more important.

He and his fellow field team member Peter Therlow will compile information from a variety of sources.

He says the information they collect in the field will be submitted to the team in Revelstoke, who will use that along with the weather forecast and information from social media to compile their forecast.