One police officer killed, another hurt in B.C. avalanche

A Nelson police officer is dead and another is critically hurt after the pair was caught in an avalanche while skiing near Kaslo, B.C., Monday.

Police were called to the area near Goat Range Provincial Park just after noon.

According to an update Tuesday, the RCMP says it’s believed the two men snowmobiled into the area before hiking to a ski bowl in the alpine when the avalanche hit.

“Fortunately there were people in the area that provided critical first aid to the injured skier and were able to assist in the search and locate the second. They provided first aid to that individual as well, but unfortunately, they didn’t survive,” Staff-Sgt. Kris Clark said Tuesday.

“The injured skier was eventually evacuated by helicopter to a local area hospital and is in critical condition.”

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Mark Jennings-Bates, a manager with Kaslo Search and Rescue, says dozens of trained search and rescue volunteers responded and scrambled to get the pair off the mountain before dark.

“It was fairly clear that there were no vital signs with the second person who was believed to be deceased, but there was still a person who was alive in very, very bad shape on the mountain, badly injured, so the medical attention went very clearly to that person. They were able to airlift them to Nelson initially and I believe they were transferred to Trail overnight last night,” Jennings-Bates told The Canadian Press.

“It’s very common in the alpine terrain that there are some areas that the skiers will be attracted to because of the terrain … so the information we have is they only used their snowmobiles to get into the region and then they were ski touring on foot. So they were skiing but there was another group of skiers close by who were able to be alerted by the one surviving person in the avalanche.”

Officers identified

The Nelson Police Board has identified the 43-year-old victim as Const. Wade Tittemore. His colleague, Const. Mathieu Nolet, remains in hospital with what the police chief describes as internal injuries and broken ribs.

A statement from the city says Tittemore had been with the Nelson police force for four years. Prior to his time in B.C., he worked with the Calgary Police Service for 11 years.

Cst. Wade Tittemore was identified as the officer who died following an avalanche. (Photo courtesy Nelson Police Department)

It says Tittemore was an avid backcountry enthusiast who loved skiing, hiking and backpacking. He had moved to Nelson with his wife and two sons.

Nelson Police Chief Donovan Fisher says the RCMP will be covering shifts for the Nelson Police Department, adding other departments from around the province have also offered help.

Avalanche risk 

In a post last week, Avalanche Canada forecaster Mike Conlan wrote that “this year’s snowpack is different from most previous years,” adding “this weak of a snowpack is only seen once every 10 to 20 years for much of western Canada.”

In a tweet Monday, the agency noted that the snowpack continued to be “unpredictable” for many regions, including that around the Kaslo area.

We know we sound like a stuck record at the moment, but, nothing much has changed. For many regions, the snowpack is still unpredictable, it's still dangerous, and it still might not give any clues about instability until it's too late. https://t.co/uAKte1zUS4

— Avalanche Canada (@avalancheca) January 10, 2023

Meanwhile, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth is extending the province’s condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the officer who was killed.

“This is a tremendous loss for Nelson and for policing in British Columbia, and we are here to support the Nelson Police Department and the City of Nelson in this difficult time,” Farnworth said Tuesday.

“Our thoughts are also with the officer who was critically injured, and we wish them well as they begin to recover.”

The Kaslo RCMP is urging people to be prepared if they plan to head into the backcountry, with resources available.

-With files from The Canadian Press