2 killed in avalanche near Revelstoke, another injured

Two people have died and another person has been left injured after an avalanche near Revelstoke Monday.

The RCMP says the avalanche happened near Mount McCrae, and police were notified at around 2:30 p.m. that the massive slide had fallen near the Alkolkolex tenure, near an area known as “Chocolate Bunnies.”

At the time, it was reported to the Mounties that several people had been heli-skiing in the area.

The two victims have been identified as brothers, Jonathan and Timothy Kinsley, both U-S businessmen in a Pennsylvania construction company.

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All three injured were taken to hospital via helicopter, however, two died from their injuries.

“Immediate action was taken on scene by all involved to locate the victims, provide first aid and transport by helicopter to hospital. Ultimately, the efforts to save the lives of the two skiers were unsuccessful,” said Revelstoke RCMP Detachment Commander Sgt. Chris Dodds. “The third skier involved remains at the hospital in serious condition.”

In a statement posted to its website, the Heli-skiing company CMH Heli Skiing confirmed two of its guests and one guide were the people injured in the avalanche.

“The two guests were flown to Kelowna airport and transported to Kelowna General Hospital where both guests were sadly pronounced deceased. The third person, a CMH guide, is presently in stable condition and has been transferred by ground to Kelowna General Hospital from Revelstoke,” the touring operator wrote.

“The thousands of guests who ski with us each winter are our family. It is impossible to put into words the sorrow that we feel and the sadness that is shared by our guests, their families and all of our staff.

“For 58 years and over 10 million guided runs, our primary focus remains on the safety of our guests and staff. At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the deceased,” Rob Rohn, president of CMH Heli Skiing said.

The BC Coroners’ Service has been called in.

Stay away from steep slopes and terrain, Avalanche Canada says

This latest avalanche in the Columbia-Shuswap region comes after five people have died in avalanches across the province this year. The province’s snowpack has remained severely unstable for weeks due to high temperatures and accumulating, heavy snow, according to Avalanche Canada.

In a statement Tuesday, the B.C. government is urging people to be prepared and “extremely cautious” when in the backcountry, as the high avalanche risk forecast in the province remains in place.

“Being caught in an avalanche is a life-threatening situation that has already claimed five lives in British Columbia this year,” Bowinn Ma, minister of emergency management, said. “Avalanche Canada continues to forecast dangerous snowpack and we’re urging everyone to exercise heightened levels of caution and vigilance in the backcountry this season. This year’s snowpack is being compared to 2003, which was one of the worst years for avalanche fatalities. Please check the avalanche forecast and follow any guidance from Avalanche Canada to stay safe.”

The government says Avalanche Canada is continuing to monitor the deep, persistent slab avalanche problem, which is causing very dangerous conditions in multiple regions around the province. The avalanche group is encouraging people to stay away from steep slopes and terrain.

“This is a highly unusual and unpredictable snowpack. The complication with this snowpack setup is that the layers are deep enough that we are less likely to see clues of instability, like nearby avalanche activity, ‘whumpfing’ or cracking snow,” Ryan Buhler, forecast supervisor at Avalanche Canada, said. “However, despite the lack of obvious clues, there is serious potential for large, human-triggered avalanches. We urge backcountry users to exercise caution and make conservative, low-consequence choices if they decide to travel in avalanche terrain.

Program Director for Avalanche Canada, James Floyer, says that unpredictable snowpack is due to low snowfall amounts in November.

“If you want to use an analogy like a house of cards, I think that’s a reasonable analogy. When you build a poor foundation for a house, then your house doesn’t sit very well and potentially could fall down,” he said.

“This condition isn’t out there everywhere, unfortunately,” Floyer continued. “There’s some places where the snow may feel quite good, and there’s other areas where it only takes a little trigger to bring down an avalanche.”

Buhler and Floiyer encourage backcountry users to always check the avalanche forecast, carry a transceiver, probe, and shovel, and be trained to use them.

The highly unstable and dangerous conditions are expected to last for the remainder of the winter, Avalanche Canada predicts.