Skier, 45, killed in 2nd B.C. avalanche
A 45-year-old skier has died in an avalanche outside of Revelstoke, B.C., the second such death in the province in as many days.
The unidentified Canadian male was in a group of 11 people, along with a guide from Canadian Mountain Holidays, on a heli-skiing excursion when the avalanche struck Friday afternoon.
The RCMP say one of the skiers triggered the deadly slide on the Selkirk range, about 35 kilometres southeast of Revelstoke, sending a 75-metre-by-250-metre mass of snow tumbling down the mountain.
Four people were buried but three managed to get out. The fourth, however, was unresponsive by the time he was uncovered and was pronounced dead at hospital some time later.
The RCMP said the 45-year-old was wearing a transceiver, a device that makes it easier to locate a person in the event of an avalanche.
Police say the skier was not from the Revestoke area and are waiting to notify his family before identifying him.
Revelstoke RCMP and the coroner's office are investigating.
On Thursday, Duncan MacKenzie, 30, an avid outdoorsman and longtime ski patroller from the Whistler Blackcomb resort, died in an avalanche in the B.C. backcountry near Pemberton.
MacKenzie and three others were on their last run of the day when the snowslide hit around 3 p.m. PT.
The avalanche hazard has remained high in many parts of B.C. for several days as a result of unusually mild temperatures. Numerous warnings have been issued to skiers and snowmobilers to exercise extreme caution when traversing backcountry trails.
Provincial officials have also closed several major roads in recent days in order to clear the avalanche risk, including the Trans-Canada Highway between Revelstoke and Golden on Thursday.
