An Edmonton man captured a shocking video this past weekend while visiting Athabasca Falls in Jasper National Park.
Kelly Shubert was visiting the falls with his wife on March 7 when he said they saw a man walking around with his drone.
He said the man lost his drone and went searching for it down on the ice by the fast-moving river.
Athabasca Falls is a powerful, picturesque 23-metre waterfall known for its force, due to the large quantity of water that falls into the gorge formed over centuries of limestone being eroded away.
Several people have fallen into the falls and died over the decades.
In the video, Shubert can be heard yelling ‘It isn’t worth it’ to the man at one point, and said there were less than 10 people there to witness the man’s fall into the river at the bottom of the gorge.
He could be seen floating down the fast-moving river for a few seconds, before grabbing the edge of the ice and a tree branch.
The man managed to pull himself out of the water, but Shubert said they were seconds away from calling 911.
According to parks ambassador and author at the Play Outside Guide Karen Ung, the man is lucky to have made it out alive.
“A lot of factors are at play there: if he’d had a heavier pack, and he wasn’t able to pull himself up on the ice. If that ice had been a little weaker and just broken, and he wasn’t able to self-rescue,” Ung said.
“You can go into shock from hypothermia from the cold as well, right? Often people just gasp a couple of times and they’re not able to function right.”
“He seemed like he was very calm and in control of the situation, but it could have gone very differently, had it been a colder day.”
There is a paved pathway at Athabasca Falls, with a railing that sits waist-high on most adults.
According to Parks Canada public relations representative Steve Young, there’s an extensive amount of signage and fencing around the falls, because the mist from the thundering water makes the area very slippery year-round.
“The amount of fencing that one would have to hop to get to where he was is staggering,” Young said.
“It’s clear (that) no amount of signage, fencing or regulations was going to stop him from doing that.”
However, Young said the man’s main offence is the use of a drone in a national park.
“Drones can pose risks to visitors, disturb wildlife and lead to negative experiences for other visitors to Jasper National Park. For these reasons, Parks Canada strictly limits the use of drones,” Young said.
“For example, canyons like this are preferred nesting places for some threatened birds, a drone is the last thing they need to be worrying about as it disturbs their nesting.”
The use of a drone without an approved permit can result in a fine of up to $25,000.
As far as the video shows, the man got out of the situation safely. However, Ung says she’s been seeing more people taking unnecessary risks like this, especially on social media.
“My fear is that people will see that and go ‘wow, I’ve never seen the falls from the bottom I want to go down there too.’ But as we saw, the risk of falling in is too great.
“If you got pulled under the ice, how long can you hold your breath? It’s just not worth it.”
Ung says those enjoying the outdoors should take special precautions to be safe on the ice, or avoid it altogether.
“They recommend it should be six inches thick. So you have to keep in mind ice thickness, ice quality, the color can kind of tell you a little bit about the quality as well. If you can’t measure, if it’s just thick snow, or if it’s over moving water you should just stay off.
“Anytime it’s over moving water that means it’s not going to be thick and strong, and it could break off and take you with it.”