A Parks Canada official in charge of visitor safety said that avalanche the risk was assessed as moderate and no update was needed on the day of a fatal avalanche.
“I reviewed the reports from the previous days. I reviewed the partner bulletins from neighboring jurisdictions,” Brian Webster testified Monday at an inquest into the avalanche death of Spencer Postman.
“Everything I reviewed convinced me that it was an accurate representation of the conditions.”
Postman, 26, of Canmore died in a skier-triggered slab avalanche in the Maya Haddo IN Banff National Park on April 5, 2021.
He and a friend were traveling in extreme terrain when the slope slid, pinning the postman over a cliff.
Webster, the visitor safety manager for Parks Canada in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks, said Postman and his friend should have had the information they needed that day to make an informed decision.
“We anticipate all the information we can get,” he told an inquest chaired by Judge Karl Wilberg.
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“I believe they had access and used that information to make an informed choice.”
The Wilberg inquiry is not tasked with assigning blame, but with making recommendations on how to prevent future tragedies, including improvements in warnings and communication.
Webster said his office is responsible for gathering information on daily avalanche reports.
“It’s a lot like being a detective,” he testified.
Forecasters gather as much information as possible during the day and then synthesize that information into an avalanche bulletin.
One person died in an avalanche on Alberta’s Haddo Peak on Monday, April 5, 2021.
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He said he believes the information provided by Parks Canada about avalanches is sufficient, but said it is important to find multiple ways to provide it to the general public.
“I always question how effective we are in connecting with user groups (on the Internet),” he added.
“It is a shared responsibility of Parks Canada and the user.”
&copies 2026 The Canadian Press
