Heliski company linked to fatal B.C. avalanche ‘heartbroken’

The company that took a group of heli-skiiers to the area of Panorama Mountain Resort where an avalanche left three people dead Wednesday says it’s “heartbroken” by the events that transpired.

RK Heliski says the guests and guides it sees every season are “part of our family,” adding “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.”

The Columbia Valley RCMP said Thursday morning that 10 people were caught up in the avalanche, which happened at about 12 p.m. Wednesday. In addition to the three people killed, four other skiers were hurt, some of them left in serious condition. They are expected to survive, officials have said.

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Read more: 3 dead in avalanche near Invermere, B.C.

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All of the skiers, except for the guides, have been identified as German nationals.

“We are grateful to all the outside agencies and our team who jumped into action when the avalanche was reported shortly after noon yesterday,” RK Heliski said in a statement Thursday.

“We would like to thank the professional Ski Patrollers from Panorama Mountain Resort, CMH Bugaboos for their dedicated team of professional ACMG guides and supporting aircrafts from Coldstream Helicopters, Silver King Helicopters, Glacier Helicopters and CMH Helicopters.”

The company says it has asked its industry association, HeliCat Canada, to activate supports for its team through the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team of Peer Responders.

“We have served 160,000 clients with over 800,000 guided runs since 1970, our top priority has been the safety of our guests and staff. We remain committed to best-in-class safety processes and protocols. During this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved and their loved ones,” the statement concludes.

Police previously said they were working with the help of local embassies to notified the next of kin.

‘A very problematic snowpack’

Including the latest deaths, there have been 12 avalanche-related fatalities in B.C. so far this year as of March 2. An Avalanche Canada forecaster has previously said the snowpack in western Canada “is thinner and weaker than a typical winter” this year.

“Our specific details on the incident are still limited but this very much speaks to a very problematic snowpack that we’re seeing throughout most of Interior B.C. and parts of the Alberta Rockies, and the Purcells in particular are one of the places this problem is the most acute,” Colin Garritty, a forecaster and field technician with Avalanche Canada, told CityNews Thursday.

He explains weak snow at the base of the snowpack is the main problem. This, he adds, can happen when there is “really thin early season snow coverage followed by a prolonged cold snap.”

“That really cold weather tends to weaken the snow that’s on the surface and then when that gets buried … we end up with a critical load that develops above that basal snowpack,” Garritty said.

We are saddened to learn of another fatal avalanche accident near Invermere yesterday. The snowpack in the interior is still dangerous with a deep persistent slab problem that is incredibly hard to manage.
Learn more about the deep persistent problem.https://t.co/DUKJcvImxq

— Avalanche Canada (@avalancheca) March 2, 2023

“Each storm, even with quite minimal input sometimes, it brings a test to this weakness and, certainly, people or machines travelling on the snowpack do the same thing.”

While Garritty notes there are generally differences in snowpacks across regions, he says conditions “pretty much everywhere” are similar in this regard.

For those who plan to be in the backcountry, he’s urging you to be prepared.

“This is the season. Get the gear, get the training, get the forecast, but do not try to outwit this problem. It’s important to stay in tune with the messaging that Avalanche Canada is putting out there in terms of how this problem is evolving or, actually, in this case, failing to evolve, and really seeking out simple, low-angle terrain, fat, uniform, thick snowpack areas, and places away from big overhead avalanche terrain,” the forecaster said.

The avalanche danger rating for the region where the Purcell Mountains are located was listed as “considerable” Thursday, indicating “considerable danger,” Garritty said.

‘Horrific news’: B.C. premier comments on fatal avalanche

Premier David Eby commented on the latest tragedy Thursday, calling it “horrific news.”

“Our thoughts, certainly our prayers, go out to family members and friends of those killed and those injured in this terrible accident,” Eby said ahead of a news conference Thursday afternoon.

“Certainly, this has been a horrific avalanche season for British Columbia. For people who are thinking about going into the backcountry, please be extremely cautious. We want everybody to be safe across our province when they’re engaging in recreation and today’s tragedy is so horrible for so many families. We’re thinking of those folks.”

With files from James Paracy, Monika Gul, Charley Carey, and Mike Lloyd