Squamish man, 44, dies in avalanche near Whistler
Posted March 6, 2012 8:31 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WHISTLER (NEWS1130) – A 44-year-old Squamish man is dead after being buried by an avalanche RCMP say he helped trigger south of Whistler Tuesday afternoon.
Mounties say he was snowmobiling with four friends in the Grizzly Lake area on Powder Mountain when he and a buddy decided to climb a steep slope.
RCMP say their ascent triggered the avalanche.
It took the other friends about 20 minutes to dig the man out, by which time he was not breathing and had no pulse.
Shawn Wilson runs snowmobile tours in the area and says the area is well known for its unstable snowpack.
“Two guys were highmarking on just a slope that is known to go, and it definitely is high avalanche danger today on certain slopes,” he tells News1130. “Everybody else knows — no one does that slope.”
Ski patrollers and two avalanche rescue dog teams were flown in by helicopter and the man was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
RCMP are warning people who travel in the back country to ensure they exercise sound judgement when selecting routes of travel and are properly trained and equipped for companion rescue.
According to the Canadian Avalance Centre, today’s avalanche rating in the area was “considerable,” an improvement from “mainly high” on Monday.
