4 people, 2 dogs partially buried by avalanche rescued by Nelson SAR

After experiencing below -20 degree weather and being partially buried by an avalanche near Nelson, a group of four people and two dogs were rescued Monday afternoon.

A Facebook post from Nelson Search and Rescue says crews responded to an ‘SOS’ with Whitewater Ski Patrol around 3:30 p.m. after a “size 2.5 avalanche outside of the Whitewater Ski area on the south face of the East Peak of Evening Ridge.”

Scott Spencer with Nelson SAR explains the avalanche was significant and ran about 600 meters down the slope.

“It’s a very difficult situation because we have to make sure that our members are not putting themselves in danger on with limited light it was a challenge for the avalanche safety officer to do the assessment. He felt the team could come in and manage the hazard. They were skiing down essentially in darkness, as was the team from whitewater ski patroller skiing up in darkness,” he explains.

The group and their pets were not fully buried, but SAR says two people have serious leg injures, the other two had minor injures. The dogs were not hurt.

“Rescue toboggans were required as darkness prevented the use of helicopter long-line,” the post reads.

“The team was very experienced and they were well prepared. They had the [SPOT Satellite Messenger] which really accelerated the response for Nelson Search and Rescue. They had all the gear and knew what they were doing,” Spencer said. “Even when you’re well-prepared, things can happen.”

Search crews had to work fast amid the dropping temperatures and waning sunlight.

The rescue included 25 volunteers and Whitewater staff, and two bystanders.

Two people were transferred to the Trail Hospital after the group were stuck for close to eight hours Spencer told CityNews.

“Avalanche risk is always something that you have to assess on the spot. The Canadian Avalanche Association puts out bulletins. The bulletin for yesterday indicated that in the alpine the hazard was considerable. But at treeline below, which is where this party was skiing, it was considered moderate.

“There were many other people out skiing slopes in different conditions …  but in this case that it was skier triggered down to the December 3 ice crust, which has been a feature in the snowpack that most forecasters throughout the region have been warning about. So they made a choice to ski in this area. I don’t know what precautions they took, or if they assess the conditions before they attempted it.”

Spencer is reminding adventurous British Columbians in the backcountry to be prepared and check the avalanche bulletins. People can also review adventuresmart.ca.

– With files from Peter Wagner