Several snowmobilers die in B.C. avalanche
Last Updated: Saturday, March 13, 2010 | 7:32 PM PT Comments47Recommend84CBC News
Several people have been killed, dozens are injured and many more could be trapped in an avalanche on a mountain in southeastern B.C.
Revelstoke, B.C.
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Hundreds of people watching and participating in the Big Iron Shootout, an annual snowmobiling event on Boulder Mountain, near Revelstoke, were caught in the slide.
Reports indicate the avalanche struck at about 3 p.m. local time Saturday.
One official told CBC News that three people are dead, two others are in critical condition and more than a dozen others were injured in the slide. It is not clear how many more people are missing.
The mountain has been shut down and a massive rescue operation is underway. Search-and-rescue helicopters and avalanche dogs are working to recover the injured.
"I know that the RCMP are up there with a number of their members doing searches and that they've got dog units … and the local search and rescue group," Revelstoke Mayor David Raven said. "We also have the ski patrol from Revelstoke Mountain Resorts available and going up."
He said the provincial government has already reached out to offer its support.
"I have been contacted by Kash Heed, the solicitor general, and the province is fully behind all of our efforts and we appreciate all of the help we have now, and it's another trying event for Revelstoke."
Raven said he wasn't sure how many people were in the area at the time of the slide, but he did say the Big Iron Shootout is an unorganized event "that's been a problem for years."
According to the Canadian Avalanche Centre, there have been 10 avalanches in the area since Friday, when the CAC issued an extreme avalanche warning for the area. It advised people to stay away from any defined avalanche terrain and steep slopes.
On Feb. 15, an Alberta man was killed in an avalanche while snowmobiling on Eagle Mountain near Revelstoke. Another Alberta man died in an avalanche while skiing near Rossland, B.C., in early January.
Revelstoke is approximately 300 kilometres west of Calgary, and about 400 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
With files from The Canadian Press
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/ca...l#ixzz0i7QP2XXN
http://www.cbc.ca/ca...-avalanche.html
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Boulder Mtn (near Revelstoke BC) Avalanche
Started by mikest2, Mar 13 2010 07:37 PM
11 replies to this topic
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Posted 13 March 2010 - 07:41 PM
Major avalanche in Revelstoke
By Katie Mercer, The ProvinceMarch 13, 2010 8:43 PMComments (5)
Story
Up to three people are dead and more than 12 others injured after an avalanche struck Boulder Mountain in Revelstoke Saturday afternoon.
Approximately 200 people were gathered on the mountain’s turbo bowl to attend the annual Big Iron Shootout snowmobile event when the avalanche struck at about 3:30 p.m.
“At this time there are [reports] of people missing but we don’t have that confirmed,” RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk told The Province.
Moskaluk said police have confirmed one person has died, while two others are believed to have been killed, and a dozen people have suffered injuries of varying degrees.
Emergency search and rescue groups — including those from Revelstoke, Golden, Nelson and Arrow Lake — along with police dog teams and rescue helicopters are evacuating people from the mountain while scouring for survivors.
The rescue mission will continue until nightfall and resume Sunday morning, Moskaluk said.
Officials from the British Columbia Snowmobile Federation and the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club declined to comment on the avalanche, but said that the news they are receiving “is not good.”
The Big Iron Shootout is an annual event on four areas of Boulder Mountain — the super bowl, sugar bowl, bullpen and turbo bowl. The competition in past years typically involved 10 teams of 11 riders who compete in the extreme events, racing up the side of the mountain and pulling jumps and stunts.
The avalanche struck just hours after the Canadian Avalanche Centre issued a special warning for Saturday and Sunday, noting avalanche risk is very high for the Kootenay-Boundary area, along with the southern Selkirk and Monashee mountains and the South Chilcotin Mountains north of Whistler.
There have been at least 10 avalanches in the Kootenay-Boundary area since Friday, as snow continues to pile up, creating weak layers in the snowpack that can cause major slides.
Avalanche forecaster Greg Johnson told The Province early Saturday that he worried avid back-country skiers will be tempted to hit the slopes with sunny skies forecast for Sunday.
“We’ve got a hazardous situation in the mountains and that’s coupled with nice weather. [Saturday], skies are clearing; [Sunday’s] meant to be a nice sunny day. And anytime you get a hazardous situation with sunny weather, people tend to forget about those hazards,” said Johnson from Revelstoke, where the CAC is based.
The avalanche threat was brought on by a snowstorm in the southern interior Thursday and Friday, which overloaded a weak layer in the upper snowpack.
“We have been tracking these weak layers since they formed in late January and in a normal winter the would be history by now,” says Johnson. “But with the lack of snow we’ve had this year, these layers are remaining very active and backcountry users are triggering avalanches fairly regularly. We’ve had a lot of close calls recently and, although this new snow will be tempting, the avalanche condition in these areas will be very dangerous.”
kmercer@theprovince.com
By Katie Mercer, The ProvinceMarch 13, 2010 8:43 PMComments (5)
Story
Up to three people are dead and more than 12 others injured after an avalanche struck Boulder Mountain in Revelstoke Saturday afternoon.
Approximately 200 people were gathered on the mountain’s turbo bowl to attend the annual Big Iron Shootout snowmobile event when the avalanche struck at about 3:30 p.m.
“At this time there are [reports] of people missing but we don’t have that confirmed,” RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk told The Province.
Moskaluk said police have confirmed one person has died, while two others are believed to have been killed, and a dozen people have suffered injuries of varying degrees.
Emergency search and rescue groups — including those from Revelstoke, Golden, Nelson and Arrow Lake — along with police dog teams and rescue helicopters are evacuating people from the mountain while scouring for survivors.
The rescue mission will continue until nightfall and resume Sunday morning, Moskaluk said.
Officials from the British Columbia Snowmobile Federation and the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club declined to comment on the avalanche, but said that the news they are receiving “is not good.”
The Big Iron Shootout is an annual event on four areas of Boulder Mountain — the super bowl, sugar bowl, bullpen and turbo bowl. The competition in past years typically involved 10 teams of 11 riders who compete in the extreme events, racing up the side of the mountain and pulling jumps and stunts.
The avalanche struck just hours after the Canadian Avalanche Centre issued a special warning for Saturday and Sunday, noting avalanche risk is very high for the Kootenay-Boundary area, along with the southern Selkirk and Monashee mountains and the South Chilcotin Mountains north of Whistler.
There have been at least 10 avalanches in the Kootenay-Boundary area since Friday, as snow continues to pile up, creating weak layers in the snowpack that can cause major slides.
Avalanche forecaster Greg Johnson told The Province early Saturday that he worried avid back-country skiers will be tempted to hit the slopes with sunny skies forecast for Sunday.
“We’ve got a hazardous situation in the mountains and that’s coupled with nice weather. [Saturday], skies are clearing; [Sunday’s] meant to be a nice sunny day. And anytime you get a hazardous situation with sunny weather, people tend to forget about those hazards,” said Johnson from Revelstoke, where the CAC is based.
The avalanche threat was brought on by a snowstorm in the southern interior Thursday and Friday, which overloaded a weak layer in the upper snowpack.
“We have been tracking these weak layers since they formed in late January and in a normal winter the would be history by now,” says Johnson. “But with the lack of snow we’ve had this year, these layers are remaining very active and backcountry users are triggering avalanches fairly regularly. We’ve had a lot of close calls recently and, although this new snow will be tempting, the avalanche condition in these areas will be very dangerous.”
kmercer@theprovince.com
...Mike
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Posted 14 March 2010 - 04:02 PM
By: ctvbc.ca
Date: Sunday Mar. 14, 2010 3:38 PM PT
Mounties in Revelstoke, B.C., say they have received no missing persons reports in the aftermath of yesterday's fatal avalanche, and that officers have accounted for all registered hotel guests.
The avalanche struck Boulder Mountain at around 3:30 p.m. Saturday when about 200 snowmobilers and spectators were gathered for the Big Iron Shootout, an annual informal event.
Two males were killed in the slide and 30 people were injured. Most of the injured -- 19 -- have been released from hospital. One person remains in critical condition, and three other patients are in serious condition. Those four were transferred to larger hospitals because of the severity of their injuries.
Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said a handful of officers spent Sunday morning knocking on 40 hotel room doors to confirm guest lists and determine how many people were still missing.
"We're confident in saying that we have accounted for all the persons on these varieties of lists that we did accumulate," Moskaluk said.
There could be additional people trapped that were not included on the guest lists, Moskaluk added, and search efforts will continue.
Witness Ervin McKeen said he saw the avalanche "break off at the top of the mountain."
"It just gathered steam as it broke," he told CTV News Channel Sunday afternoon.
He was between 200 and 300 metres from the avalanche, and saw the snow bury a few people at the top before the dust generated by the avalanche clouded his vision.
McKeen and his party went to help search for people buried in the snow. He said most of those on the mountain seemed prepared for the possibility of an avalanche and had the proper safety equipment.
"Every time you go snowmobiling, you're in danger of avalanches all the time. Sometimes a little higher than others, but it's a risk you take," he said.
Adam Burke, 20, decided not to attend the event because of snow conditions on the mountain.
"Today it was high risk and just the other day it was extreme," he said Saturday.
"I told everyone to shut the mountain down...Just how I've been riding and I've noticed a lot of slab avalanches and I've caused a lot of little stuff over the season and it's just progressively gotten worse.
"I told my mom to shut it down and don't have anything to do with this event because it's going to kick you in the ass."
RCMP initially deployed four provincial search and rescue teams. The search operation was called off after dark fell Saturday.
Helicopter crews flew over the mountain Sunday morning to determine safety levels for ground searchers before the rescue effort resumed.
The Canadian Avalanche Centre had warned of a high avalanche risk Saturday, after a storm dumped new snow on the North and South Columbia regions of B.C.'s interior on Thursday and Friday, forecaster Greg Johnson told News Channel Sunday.
The centre continues to warn of a "considerable" risk of avalanche in the South Columbia region until at least Tuesday.
With files from The Canadian Press
Date: Sunday Mar. 14, 2010 3:38 PM PT
Mounties in Revelstoke, B.C., say they have received no missing persons reports in the aftermath of yesterday's fatal avalanche, and that officers have accounted for all registered hotel guests.
The avalanche struck Boulder Mountain at around 3:30 p.m. Saturday when about 200 snowmobilers and spectators were gathered for the Big Iron Shootout, an annual informal event.
Two males were killed in the slide and 30 people were injured. Most of the injured -- 19 -- have been released from hospital. One person remains in critical condition, and three other patients are in serious condition. Those four were transferred to larger hospitals because of the severity of their injuries.
Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said a handful of officers spent Sunday morning knocking on 40 hotel room doors to confirm guest lists and determine how many people were still missing.
"We're confident in saying that we have accounted for all the persons on these varieties of lists that we did accumulate," Moskaluk said.
There could be additional people trapped that were not included on the guest lists, Moskaluk added, and search efforts will continue.
Witness Ervin McKeen said he saw the avalanche "break off at the top of the mountain."
"It just gathered steam as it broke," he told CTV News Channel Sunday afternoon.
He was between 200 and 300 metres from the avalanche, and saw the snow bury a few people at the top before the dust generated by the avalanche clouded his vision.
McKeen and his party went to help search for people buried in the snow. He said most of those on the mountain seemed prepared for the possibility of an avalanche and had the proper safety equipment.
"Every time you go snowmobiling, you're in danger of avalanches all the time. Sometimes a little higher than others, but it's a risk you take," he said.
Adam Burke, 20, decided not to attend the event because of snow conditions on the mountain.
"Today it was high risk and just the other day it was extreme," he said Saturday.
"I told everyone to shut the mountain down...Just how I've been riding and I've noticed a lot of slab avalanches and I've caused a lot of little stuff over the season and it's just progressively gotten worse.
"I told my mom to shut it down and don't have anything to do with this event because it's going to kick you in the ass."
RCMP initially deployed four provincial search and rescue teams. The search operation was called off after dark fell Saturday.
Helicopter crews flew over the mountain Sunday morning to determine safety levels for ground searchers before the rescue effort resumed.
The Canadian Avalanche Centre had warned of a high avalanche risk Saturday, after a storm dumped new snow on the North and South Columbia regions of B.C.'s interior on Thursday and Friday, forecaster Greg Johnson told News Channel Sunday.
The centre continues to warn of a "considerable" risk of avalanche in the South Columbia region until at least Tuesday.
With files from The Canadian Press
...Mike
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Posted 14 March 2010 - 04:04 PM
And if yesterdays events did not open anyones eyesd:
Rescuers out at Big White avalanche
by Castanet Staff - Story: 53296
Mar 14, 2010 / 3:33 pm
Kelowna RCMP and the Big White Mountain Resort Ski Patrol are searching an out-of-bounds area where a large avalanche occurred today at around 1:30 p.m.
It is unknown as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday if anyone has been buried in the avalanche, which is said to have been 150 by 300 metres in size. So far, there are no reports of any people missing, hurt or killed by the avalanche.
Big White Ski Resort's Michael J. Ballingall stresses the avalanche happened nowhere near the world-class resort and says the avalanche was in an area called Smoker's Bowl on the northeast peak.
Ballingall says nine big white staff members, four RCMP officers and four dogs are searching the area, while as of 4:15 Kelowna Search and Rescue are on standby.
This follows on the heels of a late-day avalanche near Revelstoke Saturday that saw two people die and 30 more suffer injuries ranging from mild to serious. Rescuers and RCMP are still on the scene at Boulder Mountain near Revelstoke.
The avalanche risk for the area remains considerable to high. People are being reminded to stay out of the backcountry, and to stay on established trails and resorts.
Rescuers out at Big White avalanche
by Castanet Staff - Story: 53296
Mar 14, 2010 / 3:33 pm
Kelowna RCMP and the Big White Mountain Resort Ski Patrol are searching an out-of-bounds area where a large avalanche occurred today at around 1:30 p.m.
It is unknown as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday if anyone has been buried in the avalanche, which is said to have been 150 by 300 metres in size. So far, there are no reports of any people missing, hurt or killed by the avalanche.
Big White Ski Resort's Michael J. Ballingall stresses the avalanche happened nowhere near the world-class resort and says the avalanche was in an area called Smoker's Bowl on the northeast peak.
Ballingall says nine big white staff members, four RCMP officers and four dogs are searching the area, while as of 4:15 Kelowna Search and Rescue are on standby.
This follows on the heels of a late-day avalanche near Revelstoke Saturday that saw two people die and 30 more suffer injuries ranging from mild to serious. Rescuers and RCMP are still on the scene at Boulder Mountain near Revelstoke.
The avalanche risk for the area remains considerable to high. People are being reminded to stay out of the backcountry, and to stay on established trails and resorts.
...Mike
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Posted 14 March 2010 - 07:32 PM
Glacier Park avi bulliten
Nothing unusual or unexpected here. About what you would expect following a significant storm on the heels of such a significant drought.
The Revelstoke high-markers event went ahead come hell or high water... again with predictable results... nothing unusual here either.
Most back-country winter mountain activities involve careful assessment of the hazards, and an activity plan & route-selection based on minimizing risk. But high-marking involves exactly the opposite. High-marking involves shooting a specialized sled straight up the gut of the biggest slide-paths around... right into the release zones. Yahoos. And this Revelstoke high-marking event coincided with the largest avi cycle of the year.
Do these people really expect public empathy?
Of course I feel sorry for the widowed wives and their children... but as for the killed & injured high-markers themselves... nope.
Nothing unusual or unexpected here. About what you would expect following a significant storm on the heels of such a significant drought.
The Revelstoke high-markers event went ahead come hell or high water... again with predictable results... nothing unusual here either.
Most back-country winter mountain activities involve careful assessment of the hazards, and an activity plan & route-selection based on minimizing risk. But high-marking involves exactly the opposite. High-marking involves shooting a specialized sled straight up the gut of the biggest slide-paths around... right into the release zones. Yahoos. And this Revelstoke high-marking event coincided with the largest avi cycle of the year.
Do these people really expect public empathy?
Of course I feel sorry for the widowed wives and their children... but as for the killed & injured high-markers themselves... nope.
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Posted 14 March 2010 - 08:21 PM
mthornton, on 14 March 2010 - 07:32 PM, said:
Do these people really expect public empathy?
Of course I feel sorry for the widowed wives and their children... but as for the killed & injured high-markers themselves... nope.
Of course I feel sorry for the widowed wives and their children... but as for the killed & injured high-markers themselves... nope.
That is an extremely ignorant comment.
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Posted 15 March 2010 - 09:52 PM
skier2, on 14 March 2010 - 08:21 PM, said:
That is an extremely ignorant comment.
Ignorant? Not really. This is happening where I live & it affects my community & my life. My contempt for high-markers is sincere & based on experience. It is based on what I see them doing in the mountains around my home. My wife and I have been alpine climbing for 30 years each, and together we know a little bit about managing risk. These guys make no apparent effort in managing risk.
Last year in BC there were 24 avalanche deaths total... 19 of those were high-markers.
In december 2008, not far from my home a single high-markers incident claimed 8 lives. Looks like these guys just don't/can't learn. This is just going to happen again and again and again. After each incident the question asked is "High-markers?", the answer is always "yup".
Thousands of other responsible mountain sledders (not high-markers) safely & intelligently use their snowmobiles for access to BC's back-country. This includes fishermen, back-country skiers, climbers, tourers, trappers, hunters, workers & simple family fun. Everyone will be hurt by the high-markers irresponsible actions.
The urban public media is not much aware that high-markers are a group distinct from typical snowmobilers.
Access restrictions (for all) are a possible consequence cbc story possible changes to new regulations .
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Posted 16 March 2010 - 06:44 PM
This is pretty simple to solve. Anyone that you see hi-marking should be "shoot" on sight. or @ least rip the track apart so they suffer some...
I do not like hi-markers. I dont do it myself just because of the risk. if I see someone doing it in a area where i'm in I high tail it out of there.
I do not like hi-markers. I dont do it myself just because of the risk. if I see someone doing it in a area where i'm in I high tail it out of there.
Jeff
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Posted 17 March 2010 - 07:05 AM
They're looking at criminal charges for the guys who organized the event, who seem to have fallen off the face of the planet. Probably scared for THEIR lives! I agree with MT, these guys just don't seem to learn. I wasn't even remotely shocked to learn that an avalanche was caused by sledders - especially given the timing - our area (including Revy) had just received at least 1.5 ft of snow in the 36 hours leading to the event, after a long time of very little snow and icy conditions.
- Allan
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Posted 17 March 2010 - 12:25 PM
CAA Preliminary report. http://www.avalanche...a9-373138567eba
Rob
Ray's Rule for Precision - Measure with a micrometer, mark with chalk, cut with an axe.
Ray's Rule for Precision - Measure with a micrometer, mark with chalk, cut with an axe.
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Posted 19 March 2010 - 06:35 PM
I have to ask if anyone can describe these people as anything but stupid. They do not listen to anyone, let alone heed any warnings.
New B.C. avalanche kills snowmobiler
Last Updated: Friday, March 19, 2010 | 7:10 PM PT Comments49Recommend25The Canadian Press
An area west of the central B.C. town of Revelstoke, above, was the scene of another fatal avalanche Friday. (Alan Silvester)
A massive avalanche in British Columbia's mountainous backcountry on Friday killed at least one snowmobiler, injured two others and sparked a search for anyone else caught in the second deadly slide in the area in the past week.
The RCMP confirmed the mid-afternoon avalanche happened on Eagle Pass Mountain, 15 kilometres west of Revelstoke, not far from where two snowmobilers were killed and 31 were injured in a slide March 13.
"The avalanche … has been categorized as a large slide," said Cpl. Dan Moskaluk.
Moskaluk said an air and ground search involving the RCMP, avalanche dogs, search-and-rescue personnel and local helicopter operators was underway late Friday.
View Larger Map He said it was a Category 4 avalanche, which the Canadian Avalanche Centre lists as its second-largest rating.
The centre's website said an avalanche of that size can have a mass of 10,000 tonnes, travel two kilometres, and would be powerful enough to destroy several buildings.
The centre's forecast for the weekend put the avalanche risk at moderate to considerable.
Last winter, 75 per cent of the 26 people killed in avalanches in western Canada — most of them in B.C. — were snowmobilers.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/ca...l#ixzz0igFpNq7H
New B.C. avalanche kills snowmobiler
Last Updated: Friday, March 19, 2010 | 7:10 PM PT Comments49Recommend25The Canadian Press
An area west of the central B.C. town of Revelstoke, above, was the scene of another fatal avalanche Friday. (Alan Silvester)
A massive avalanche in British Columbia's mountainous backcountry on Friday killed at least one snowmobiler, injured two others and sparked a search for anyone else caught in the second deadly slide in the area in the past week.
The RCMP confirmed the mid-afternoon avalanche happened on Eagle Pass Mountain, 15 kilometres west of Revelstoke, not far from where two snowmobilers were killed and 31 were injured in a slide March 13.
"The avalanche … has been categorized as a large slide," said Cpl. Dan Moskaluk.
Moskaluk said an air and ground search involving the RCMP, avalanche dogs, search-and-rescue personnel and local helicopter operators was underway late Friday.
View Larger Map He said it was a Category 4 avalanche, which the Canadian Avalanche Centre lists as its second-largest rating.
The centre's website said an avalanche of that size can have a mass of 10,000 tonnes, travel two kilometres, and would be powerful enough to destroy several buildings.
The centre's forecast for the weekend put the avalanche risk at moderate to considerable.
Last winter, 75 per cent of the 26 people killed in avalanches in western Canada — most of them in B.C. — were snowmobilers.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/ca...l#ixzz0igFpNq7H
...Mike
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Posted 20 March 2010 - 04:39 AM
It's the same down here-- take a look at the CAICpage under 'incidents' and the majority are snowmobilers. It does not differentiate between touring and high-marking, but I'd be willing to bet a majority of the deaths occurred while high=marking.
Member, Department of Ancient Technology, Colorado chapter.
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