When are these guys gonna wake up and play safe......
VALEMOUNT, B.C. - Treacherous avalanche conditions in British Columbia's
mountains have claimed two more snowmobile victims - one Friday and another
Saturday.
Const. Tim Hawkes of the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., RCMP said a group of six
snowmobilers were in the area of the "Back Meadows" on Babcock Mountain near
Tumbler Ridge in northeastern B.C., on Saturday when the side hill they were
on broke free.
The deaths bring to 15 the total of fatalities attributable to avalanches
this season.
One of the Tumbler Ridge group had been highmarking at the time of the
slide. The rest of the group was at the bottom of the hill, off to one side
and were not taken by the slide, police said.
The lone male was buried by the slide and was not located before he
succumbed to his injuries.
He was eventually located with the assistance of other snowmobilers who had
been in the area. The other five members of the group were able to get out
of the area without injury following the incident.
No names were immediately being released.
On Friday, an avalanche in the Monashee Mountains in the Valemount area in
the B.C. southcentral Interior claimed the life of a snowmobiler.
RCMP spokesman Craig Douglass said two snowmobilers in a group of seven were
caught in the avalanche Friday afternoon.
Both were eventually dug out, though one wasn't breathing and efforts to
revive the victim proved unsuccessful.
Douglass said it is not known if the victim or other members of the group
had proper safety equipment and training.
The victim's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The Canadian Avalanche Centre rates confidence in the Monashee Mountains as
poor, as the existing snowpack combined with the current weather pattern
results in conditions that are not easily predictable.
In late December, eight snowmobilers died when they were caught in a series
of avalanches near Fernie.