Two of the three men who were swept away in an avalanche in southeastern B.C. on Monday afternoon have now been identified.
Alex Pashley, who worked for The North Face, was described by the company as an “explorer to his core.”
The company posted on Instagram that it was “heartbroken” by his death.
“Pashley’s curiosity and kindness left a mark on everyone who had the privilege of working, riding, and running alongside him,” it wrote.
“Our hearts are with Pashley’s wife Erin, his family and his beloved Bernese Mountain Dogs, Dale and Rainer.”
In a Facebook post, Mt. Seymour identified the second man as Jeff Keenan.
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“Jeff was a huge part of the snowboard community at Mt Seymour and the wider snowboard landscape,” the organization wrote.
“His younger days were spent here as part of the Skids (Seymour Kids), a crew of snowboarders that helped define snowboarding in the 90s & 00s.
“More recently, Jeff was part of the group of riders that spawned the Baked Salmon Banked Slalom, hosted on Mt Seymour. Jeff and his friends worked tirelessly to bring that event to life and create a space for the snowboard community to thrive.”
Three men were killed in the avalanche, while a 40-year-old Nelson man is in critical condition.
Two groups of skiers were filming footage for a feature and had just finished a run on the east side of Kootenay Lake.
They had hired Stellar Heli Skiing for the experience and were waiting to be picked up when the pilot saw the avalanche start to happen.
He was able to sound the siren and one group of skiers was able to move out of the way.
However, the second group was buried.
The third man who died was a guide with Stellar Heli Skiing. They are not releasing his identity, only saying that he was 53 years old and a senior member of staff.
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