Highway 93 reopens after 20 vehicles involved in crashes: RCMP

Cars deal with poor winter driving conditions near Peyto Lake along the Icefields Parkway on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022 (Credit: Keir Lamar).

RCMP say Highway 93 North between Lake Louise and Jasper was impassable for several hours Sunday as emergency crews responded to more than a dozen crashes.

According to Mounties, officers began to receive reports of crashes around 3:50 p.m. along the highway, also known as the Icefields Parkway.

Officials estimated around 20 vehicles were involved in crashes or had slid off the road due to poor winter driving conditions in the area of Peyto Lake.

As of publication, police say no injuries were reported. Highway traffic resumed again after 8:30 p.m.

The Peyto Lake area, Highway 93 and Jasper National Park were placed under snowfall warnings by Environment and Climate Change Canada for the weekend.

Heavy snowfall was forecasted by the national weather agency throughout Sunday evening and into Monday, with totals expected to exceed 30 centimetres.

"Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve," the weather warning read. "Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow.

"Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow."

Snowfall was also forecasted throughout the mountains, with up 10 to 15 centimetres predicted to fall by Monday morning in the Kananaskis and Canmore areas.