WATCH ABOVE: It was a close call for a group of skiers who survived an avalanche near Golden, B.C. Their luck is undeniable but as Margeaux Morin explains, questions are raised about why they were skiing out-of-bounds without avalanche equipment or training.
VANCOUVER – Three men are OK after being caught in an avalanche near Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, near Golden, B.C.
Cst. Kris Clark, with the Southeast District RCMP, says the avalanche occurred at about 2 p.m. outside the ski resort boundary. The three men, in their early 20s and from Saskatchewan, were skiing out-of-bounds near Terminator 2, when they allegedly caused and were subsequently caught in the avalanche. They were carried 1,000 metres down the mountainous terrain.
“They were not wearing any avalanche equipment and they did not have any avalanche training previously,” said Jordan Peterson, president of the Golden District Search and Rescue.
The trio ducked under an out-of-bounds safety rope which was clearly marked with warnings of avalanche danger.
“Ski hills put a lot of time and money into controlling avalanches and as soon as you leave the area boundaries you’re no longer protected by that control,” Peterson said.
Police say one of the men called 9-1-1 and the Safety Team from Kicking Horse was able to quickly locate them. Two of the men have suffered serious, but non-life threatening injuries, while the third is reportedly uninjured.
News of the avalanche hit one Edmonton family particularly hard. It has been just over a year since 29-year-old Shane Schroeder lost his life in an out of bounds avalanche near the same resort.
“Be prepared, make sure you know what you need to know,” said one of Schroeder’s family members.
“The avalanche courses are not expensive and they’re not long but they can save you life, so do it. It’s an easy thing to do.”
Search and Rescue was activated and extracted the men from the area and they were all taken to hospital.
“They easily could have all three of them ended up dead,” Peterson said.
“You’re putting yourselves at risk of avalanche, putting yourselves at risk of injury and therefore putting rescuers at risk.”
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