Avalanche in Kicking Horse Backcountry, B.C. Claims Life of 29-Year-Old Male Yesterday

At 2:30pm yesterday, Friday, December 20th, 2013 an out-of-bounds avalanche near Kicking Horse ski resort claimed the life of a 29-year-old Alberta man.  

The man was reporting missing by a friend on Friday who was with the man at the time of the avalanche.  Search and rescue teams probed for the missing man for 60 minutes before finding his body in the avalanche debris.  The CBC has confirmed that the deceased man was not carrying any avalanche gear (avalanche transceiver, shovel, proble).

The avalanche danger rating at the time of the avalanche was ‘considerable.’

“New snow with moderate to strong westerly winds have created dense wind slabs in exposed lee terrain and cross-loaded features. Rider triggering is possible, particularly in steep unsupported terrain,” – CAIC, December 20th, 2013 for the Kicking Horse area