Search underway after avalanche in Pemberton B.C.

[TyrianQuill]

Police search for B.C. avalanche victims
CBC News Posted: Dec 29, 2011 6:22 PM PT Last Updated: Dec 29, 2011 6:49 PM PT

An unknown number of people have been caught in an avalanche north of Pemberton, B.C., RCMP say.

It's not known yet how many people might be involved.

Police and search and rescue crews are searching the area of the slide.

Pemberton is about 120 kilometres north of Vancouver.
An unknown number of people have been caught in an avalanche north of Pemberton, B.C

source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... erton.html

Updated: Skier dies after avalanche in Pemberton, B.C.
source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... erton.html

[zzontar]

One injured in avalanche
by The Canadian Press - Story: 69094
Dec 29, 2011 / 8:57 pm

RCMP say one person was injured in an avalanche in Pemberton.

According to media reports, police say the person was one of three people caught in the slide that occurred near Casper Creek.

Police describe the person's injuries as serious.

Media reports say searchers are heading into the area to make sure no one else was caught in the slide.

(CKWX, CKNW)

[SunBunny]

They found him, and unfortunately he didn't survive.

I find these back country sports enthusiasts infuriating. I'm so sorry that that man died, and he was a much loved individual by the sounds of it, but these rescues put the volunteers with Search & Rescue, the police, and every other emergency responder at risk with every single rescue. It's so selfish as far as I'm concerned, and with all the deaths every year the whole "It won't happen to me" attitude is so stupid.

[grammafreddy]

What's double-dumb is that he was a member of the ski patrol.

http://www.castanet.net/news/BC/69116/S ... -avalanche

Ski patroller dies in avalanche
by The Canadian Press - Story: 69116
Dec 30, 2011 / 12:26 pm

An avid outdoorsman and longtime ski patroller from British Columbia was identified Friday as the skier who died in an avalanche in British Columbia's pristine, and avalanche-prone, backcountry.

Duncan MacKenzie, a 30-year-old ski patroller at the Whistler-Blackcomb resort, died in an avalanche Thursday near Pemberton, his employer confirmed in a news release.

MacKenzie's body was safely removed at approximately 12:30 p.m., via the Search and Rescue helicopter and crews. No autopsy is scheduled to be performed at this time.

MacKenzie was among four skiers in a remote area near Caspar Creek, east of Pemberton, when the avalanche struck Thursday afternoon, according to the RCMP and Whistler-Blackcomb.

Three of the four skiers were making their final descent when they were caught up in the slide.

"All four members of the party were highly skilled backcountry ski tourers," said the news release from the Whistler-Blackcomb resort.

"(MacKenzie) was a keen athlete and outdoor enthusiast."

MacKenzie was critically injured. Another skier stayed with him while they waited for help, but the dangerous terrain and weather prevented helicopters from reaching them.

He was dead by the time help arrived.

"It took a considerable amount of time for search-and-rescue ground crews to gain access and ultimately determine he had succumbed to his injuries," said Sgt. Peter Thiessen of the RCMP.

"One of his close buddies remained with him on the cold, dark mountain waiting for help while his buddy was dying, and you can only imagine what that must have been like for that individual."

MacKenzie had worked at Whistler-Blackcomb since October 2000. Various online postings and websites identify MacKenzie as a frequent backcountry skier and mountain biker, running his own trail-building company to make biking trails.

The Canadian Avalanche Centre has been warning that mild temperatures have created heightened risks throughout British Columbia. The centre's latest bulletin for the area put the risk at considerable even at lower elevations and high in alpine areas.

"You can only prepare and equip so much and then mother nature will take over," said Thiessen, explaining the decision by the victim and his friends to set out.

"And unfortunately this terrible tragedy, yet again. We have seen it in previous years and hopefully we won't see any more this season, but I'm not confident in that. We have seen many deaths every winter in the backcountry because of avalanches, here."

Thursday's death marked the second of the current avalanche season.

Eleven people died in snow slides in Western Canada in the 2010-2011 season.

[StraitTalk]

They found him, and unfortunately he didn't survive.

I find these back country sports enthusiasts infuriating. I'm so sorry that that man died, and he was a much loved individual by the sounds of it, but these rescues put the volunteers with Search & Rescue, the police, and every other emergency responder at risk with every single rescue. It's so selfish as far as I'm concerned, and with all the deaths every year the whole "It won't happen to me" attitude is so stupid.

I don't think you quite understand the mantra of backcountry enthusiasts. Although I agree, it is frustrating to hear of people getting caught in slides, especially when death is involved, even more so when the victim is a highly trained one. But understand that these are *usually* calculated risks. There are lots of people outside even today, thousands, skiing the backcountry. We may not hear of any problems, or maybe we will. Unfortunately now that the weekend is over and the storms have long passed, natural activity has mostly ceased and the most noticeable signs of avalanche danger (natural slides) have mostly happened already. This will make decision making extremely difficult for travelers and make it much easier for inexperienced individuals to ski the wrong terrain.

Rest assured, as someone who is trained in both companion rescue and organized rescue, I can promise you that professional teams that come in to assist with extraction or in the worst-case-scenario, body retrieval, are extremely well versed in the rules and guidelines that need to be adhered to before they can simply enter dangerous terrain themselves. I can't even recall an incident where a professional team conducting a rescue had been caught in a slide themselves. Teams will go as far as blasting additional snow on top of likely burial areas if it means making sure it is safe to be there.

Your heart is in the right place worrying about the welfare of the rescuers. I happen to be one of those people ready to go if someone in the area calls for help. But I don't get angry when I hear about stuff like this. We all share the same love for the mountains and the snow and we can't always make the right decisions. (That isn't necessarily a blanket statement either. There are definitely some ignorant people out there going where ever they want to go, no matter what the risks, known or unknown. Think back to the Big Iron Shootout. It was surprising the media didn't catch on to the fact that event organizers were warned in the days preceding the event that the local risk was high, and the repercussions could have been monumental. That incident was very close to being the most deadly avalanche in Canadian history.)

[gardengirl]

There have been warnings about the mild weather for weeks. There is no excuse for this stupidity.
Do back country people somehow think they are exempt from nature?

[Libelle]

I see this no different than someone taking extacy.