news Two men killed by avalanche while skiing near Golden, B.C.

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Two men killed by avalanche while skiing near Golden, B.C.


Sat Mar 7, 9:28 PM




GOLDEN, B.C. - Officials with Kicking Horse Mountain Resort have confirmed two men have been killed in an avalanche near Golden, B.C.
The resort issued a statement Saturday afternoon saying the RCMP Operation Control Centre received a 911 call reporting an avalanche just north of the resort.
At approximately 2:25 p.m. the resort personnel determined that the avalanche had taken place in what is known as a permanent avalanche closure within the controlled recreation area of the resort.
Resort personnel in collaboration with Golden search and rescue and the RCMP determined that the avalanche was triggered by the skiers and a search was immediately launched.
At approximately 2:59 p.m. the first skier was located and uncovered. At approximately 3:04 p.m. the second skier was located and uncovered by the search team.
Both were flown by helicopter from the accident scene to the Golden District hospital.
Skier Kevin Hall of Calgary told a Calgary TV station it was a virtual white-out Saturday afternoon at the top of the steep Feuz Bowl run, where the avalanche occurred.
Hall said the response from the resort was "full-response mode, adding that all lifts were immediately closed.
He described helicopters moving up the hill slowly, hugging the mountain as they searched for any more victims that might be trapped in the slide.
"It sent an absolute shiver up our spine," said Hall. "It was an area that we had been skiing (in). People we were talking to in the lineup around the base of the chair, there was just shock and surprise at what had happened.
"But there was no anger there. There was obviously an appreciation for the response from the hill, plus also concern for the people that had been caught in the avalanche."
A week ago Gilles Blackburn, 51, of Quebec, and his wife, Marie-Josee Fortin, 44, became lost after straying out of bounds at the same resort.
Blackburn was rescued after spending nine days lost in the wilderness but his wife did not survive.
Mounties came in for criticism in that case after they admitted erring in not launching a search sooner after multiple sightings of Blackburn's SOS signs were ignored.