# Snowmobiler dies in Avalanche - Kimberley BC



## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Snowmobiler killed in avalanche near Kimberley | 660News

The sad thing is that this was a memorial cruise, honouring another friend that died in an avalanche in the area. There were also high risk warnings out!

R.I.P. to the deceased but it seems like this group really needs to get back to Avy training or stay on groomed, licensed trails... :blink:


----------



## ETM (Aug 11, 2009)

RIP
What were they thinking?


----------



## ShredLife (Feb 6, 2010)

"The victim was found 24 hours later under 1.5 metres of snow at the leading edge of the avalanche’s path, by crews who had been searching since dawn.

.....An RCMP spokesman says the victim was well prepared and came with all the necessary equipment."

poor article - something doesn't add up. it does not take 24hrs to conduct a beacon search. 

"Last week, the Canadian Avalanche Centre issued a special warning to backcountry enthusiasts about the considerable risk in the area."

on the avy scale 'considerable' has some risk, but it can be mitigated with good decisions. you can still go play on a 'considerable' day, just gotta be smart/cautious out there.

sad for sure. snowmobiles are dangerous.


----------



## atr3yu (Feb 15, 2012)

Crazy I was just in Kimberly all weekend visiting my brother and dad.


----------



## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)

sad...seems like so many of the avy deaths are clearly preventable,i was just reading the big New York Times article about the Steven's Pass tragedy, so many red flags

...just...sad on many levels


----------



## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

ShredLife said:


> "The victim was found 24 hours later under 1.5 metres of snow at the leading edge of the avalanche’s path, by crews who had been searching since dawn.
> 
> .....An RCMP spokesman says the victim was well prepared and came with all the necessary equipment."
> 
> ...


1.5 meters seems relatively shallow. How far away do you have to be to lose a beacon signal at that depth?


----------



## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)

ShredLife said:


> poor article - something doesn't add up. it does not take 24hrs to conduct a beacon search.



_"Peter Reid, President of the Kimberley Search and Rescue, immediately launched a rescue operation after the call came in, but dangerous conditions kept them from reaching the scene."_

they didnt want to lose anyone else


----------



## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

ShredLife said:


> poor article - something doesn't add up. it does not take 24hrs to conduct a beacon search.


I think this is the explanation in the article:

_Peter Reid, President of the Kimberley Search and Rescue, immediately launched a rescue operation after the call came in, but dangerous conditions kept them from reaching the scene.

“It was too unsafe for the rescuers even to be there,” says BC Coroner Bar McLintock. “The Canadian Avalanche Centre, the search and rescue specialists and avalanche specialists had to go in and do some blasting (with explosives) just to make it safe.”_

So they may have had to wait until the next morning to begin avalanche control, and then rescue?!?

I was just in Kimberley boarding a week ago, and there was very little snow in the area. That's what's shocked me the most, they haven't had fresh snow for ages! Temps have been above zero for a while during the day...

BTW here's yesterdays forecast for the area. Purcells : Latest Bulletins : Bulletins : Canadian Avalanche Centre : avalanche.ca


----------



## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

1.5 meters is over four feet deep. Probably about two tons of snow you'd have to move to get to the victim. Beacons will definitely pick that up. 

I read about this accident yesterday. Sounds like there was a lot of hangfire involved. Rescue teams blasted and brought down more snow before going in. 

I am unsure about the dynamics of the beacon search. As shred said, something seems a little off.


----------



## ShredLife (Feb 6, 2010)

well yea, S&R is going to wait till they deem it safe to go in but in an avalanche S&R is generally for body recovery - not rescue. 

you have 15 minutes to rescue. the rest of the party not buried should be performing rescue if they had beacons probes and shovels. you really gonna not go onto the debris pile with your buddy dying in there? it would really have to be some pretty imminent hangfire. i mean fuck you're on sleds. 

one thing is for sure - this is a poorly written, vague article.


----------



## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)

yeh that is weird, where were the other 6 after it happened? maybe partially buried too...is it even possible that they didn't have avy gear?

(if by chance any of you haven't seen this, and want to read/interact a superb avalanche story.....)

Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek - Multimedia Feature - NYTimes.com


----------



## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Hard to say Shred. In that situation, I know sure as shit I wouldn't expose the whole party to the hangfire threat. One person, quick search to see if you can get a hit, probably. You would want minimal people out there. 

This scenario is most definitely the most nightmarish I can think of. You have a group that (hopefully) is equipped for a rescue, but it may not be safe to do so. Getting more people buried does not help. 

All accounts were that this one was a fairly large slide. The official report is going to be an interesting read.


----------



## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Here's another story on it, 660 news doesn't really get too in depth...

Avalanche kills 1 in B.C.'s Purcell range - British Columbia - CBC News


----------



## seriouscat (Jan 23, 2012)

Seems like Purcell is pretty dangerous. Didn't the rk heli death happen in the same range?


----------



## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

seriouscat said:


> Seems like Purcell is pretty dangerous. Didn't the rk heli death happen in the same range?


Yeah, sounds like that one happened near Jumbo glacier. They do seem to get a different snow than we do from Lake Louise east. Every time I look at the forecasts, average temps on that side of the rockies are 5+ deg higher. That's got to have an effect on the snow (both falling snow and the snowpack)...


----------



## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Any range with avalanche terrain is dangerous. Coastal mountains, Purcells, Rockies, you name it. If it's steep enough to ride it's steep enough to slide. 

Glancing through some Canadian accident history. The Banff area seems to have the Lion's share of the accidents. I do believe that is or more of a continental style snow pack so it would make sense. Purcells don't stand out as a unusually dangerous spot at a glance.


----------



## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

CassMT said:


> yeh that is weird, where were the other 6 after it happened? maybe partially buried too...is it even possible that they didn't have avy gear?
> 
> (if by chance any of you haven't seen this, and want to read/interact a superb avalanche story.....)
> 
> Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek - Multimedia Feature - NYTimes.com


That's some pretty heavy stuff.


----------

