Nine people have died in avalanches in British Columbia this season, four of them since February 11. Avalanche Canada has warned that this year’s snowpack is dangerous and difficult to predict.
Here is a timeline of avalanche events this season:
December 31: A skier suffers life-threatening injuries in a slide near Emerald Lake in southeast BC, near the Alberta border, Avalanche Canada says in a report.
January 5: Avalanche Canada warns of a sensitive snowpack with various layers of weakness caused by long periods of drought and cold weather. “Drivers have triggered large, frightening avalanches with high consequences,” says the report.
January 9: Two off-duty police officers are caught in an avalanche while skiing off-road near Kaslo, BC. Nelson Police Service Const. Wade Tittemore, 43, dies and Const. Mathieu Nolet, 28, suffers serious internal injuries.
January 21: Nolet dies in hospital from his injuries.
January 21: Two snowmobilers driving at the base of a bluff near Valemount, BC accidentally trigger an avalanche from above, throwing a slab of snow at one rider while the other escapes. The buried driver becomes unresponsive and dies.
Jan 23: Heli-skiers and their guide are caught in an avalanche near Revelstoke, BC. The two guests are dug out of the snow and pronounced dead at the hospital. The leader is taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Jan 23: A slide falls on a person near Cherryville, BC. Paramedics say the person was taken to hospital with undetermined injuries.
January 24: Brothers and American businessmen Jonathan and Timothy Kingsley are identified by Pennsylvania-based Kinsley Construction as victims of the January 23 landslide near Revelstoke.
February 11: Two skiers were caught in an avalanche on Potato Peak in the Chilcotin area of British Columbia. Search and Rescue were notified when the victims were declared overdue and their bodies were recovered at the site of the chute.
February 16: Five snowboarders and one skier were caught in an avalanche in a backcountry area near Golden, BC, burying two people and partially covering a third person. The partially buried individual survived while the other two were killed.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on February 19, 2023.
The Canadian Press
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