An avalanche has taken the life of a yet another snowmobiler – the second in one week.
Chase RCMP have confirmed a 38-year-old male sledder from Celista died as a result of an avalanche in the Crowfoot Mountain recreational area on Sunday, March 13.
At around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, police received a report of an overdue snowmobiler possibly being involved in an avalanche, says RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk.
The Shuswap Search and Rescue (SAR) team was immediately activated at the time of the report.
SAR manager John Schut says his team was called out at about 11:45 and had concerns about getting two of the members with AVI 1 initial avalanche training out to the area quickly to make sure it was safe for others to head into the area.
“We did our best to get a helicopter as soon as possible but we had some trouble getting one,” Schut says, noting an AVI 3 (highest trained) avalanche technician from Golden happened to be heading east through Salmon Arm, saw the Shuswap trucks and phoned to ask if he could join the search.
The three avalanche technicians were flown over the Crowfoot Mountain area to assess the scene and deemed it safe to land.
“About that time, the subject was found, just before 1 p.m., and the subject was deceased,” says Schut sadly, noting the funeral for the sledder who died in an avalanche near Owl’s Head last week was taking place at the same time.
“The weather was deteriorating and, under the direction of the coroner, the body was retrieved via the helicopter,” he says. “They landed above the scene and two of the technicians skied down to get the body and skied back to the helicopter.”
The body was turned over to the Coroner’s Office in the parking lot of the Crowfoot Snowmobile Club.
Schut says the deceased sledder was with two friends but there was no indication of him having a beacon.
“A search was carried out with beacons but there was no signal,” Schut says, noting there was discussion in the parking lot about shutting the area down. “It was mainly coming from the snowmobile people, who did close it down Sunday, but it’s Crown land.”
Schut says conditions are so treacherous, avalanches are happening on their own without being triggered.
Chase RCMP are continuing to assist the BC Coroners Service with its investigation into the man’s death.