A 19-year-old Quebec man is the latest person to be killed in an avalanche in Western Canada, making this the deadliest beginning to an avalanche season on record according to the Canadian Avalanche Centre.
The latest avalanche occurred on Monday in Banff National Park, near the Alberta resort town of Lake Louise. RCMP officials say an unidentified man was swept up in an avalanche at 3 p.m. on Mount St. Piran.
Another skier survived by grabbing on to a tree. He then found his companion and called 911, but the victim died as paramedics rushed him to a local hospital.
Cam Campbell, a public avalanche forecaster with the Canadian Avalanche Centre, told CTV.ca on Tuesday that this has been the deadliest start to an avalanche season since the centre began taking records more than a quarter-century ago.
"This is the highest number of avalanche fatalities we've seen by this date. We have 10 so far this season and this is the most we've had by Jan.8," he said.
From 1978 to 2007, an average of 11 avalanche fatalities has occurred per year in Canada, the centre reports.
Campbell explained that rainfall in early December followed by a cold snap caused an icy crust to form at a high altitude in the mountains of Western Canada. The crust was then buried by snowfall, causing a weak and unstable layer to build on top of the initial crust.
"We've been very concerned about this layer for a few weeks now, especially in the southern part of B.C. and Alberta," he said.
"As more snow falls, this weakness is buried deeper in the snowpack and it becomes more difficult to predict how much conditional load it will take to cause a slope avalanche."
Campbell said the weak underlying crust could persist for a number of weeks or months.
The Canadian avalanche season generally lasts from between November to April; however, Campbell cautioned that slides can occur as late as May or June.
Meanwhile, police have confirmed the body of a man found underneath the debris field of an avalanche at the Big White ski resort was that of Australian skier Leigh Barnier.
Police say the 21-year-old was killed when a snow slide ripped through an area known as the Parachute Bowl on Sunday morning near Kelowna, B.C.
"The B.C. Coroner's service is conducting an investigation and we're assisting them in any way we can," RCMP Const. Julie Rattee told CTV.ca on Thursday adding that no other information was available at the time.
Also on Sunday, Eric Hofman, a 44-year-old Penticton resident, died snowmobiling with friends on Mount Arthurs. Another avalanche nearby killed 59-year-old Nanook Brousseau, of Grand Forks, who was also on a snowmobile.
Campbell said all 10 fatalities this season happened while individuals were participating in winter recreational activities.
Most of the deaths were in backcountry areas, but at least one death was in an open resort ski area while another was in a permanently-closed area near Whistler Blackcomb, he said.
"For back-country users, this is not the season to push into steeper terrain. When they do have a choice, it's the season to choose a more conservative line," Campbell said.
The Canadian Avalanche Centre says there are a number of common mistakes backcountry adventurers make that increase their risk of being involved in an avalanche accident. They include:
- poor trip preparation;
- lack of knowledge of recognizing avalanche terrain;
- inability to assess snow stability;
- unskilled backcountry search and rescue techniques.
The centre notes that backcountry enthusiasts have a 73 per cent chance of being killed during the months of January, February and March, compared to 23 per cent during November, December and April.
