There is still an unusually high risk of avalanches inside the Tombstone Territorial Park, says senior park ranger Dorian Amos.

Amos and other park staff dug test pits in the snow Friday. They revealed continuing danger from kilometre 58 to kilometre 120 of the Dempster Highway.

"The snow conditions are changing constantly, and that is perfectly visible as you drive down the highway, because you can see them (avalanches) on the side of the mountain,” he said. "And that should be a warning to everybody.”

Amos said he saw evidence of about 12 slides.

"Some of them are fairly large, like half of the hillside came off, basically.”

One would not want to be caught in any of them, he added.

Amos said because conditions are changing constantly, literally hour by hour with fluctuating temperatures, it's difficult to say at any particular time whether the snowpack has stabilized.

Hence, the risk must be considered high, he said.

Park officials are hoping to bring in an avalanche expert this week to make a professional assessment of the danger prior to this weekend's Diamond Dempster Days. That annual family winter carnival inside the park attracts Yukoners from all over.

Amos said results of the assessment will be shared with organizers of the carnival, who he is already in close contact with.

Those frequenting the park should have proper avalanche safety gear – shovel, probe and transceiver – and know how to use it, he said.