An avalanche on Monday afternoon near Mount McCrea, just south of Revelstoke, has claimed the lives of two skiers, while one more is in stable condition.
“Three individuals were caught in the slide with two fully buried and one partially buried,” said a press release from CMH Heliskiing.
“The individuals were located by their transceivers and extracted from the snow.”
CMH Guides attended to two guests who were unresponsive.
They were flown to Kelowna and transported to Kelowna General Hospital where they were pronounced dead.
On social media, the two victims were identified as two Americans: brothers and business partners Jonathan Kinsley and Timothy Kinsley of York, Pennsylvania. The two ran Kinsley Properties and Kinsley Construction.
“We are deeply heartbroken to share news of the sudden and tragic passing of Jonathan Kinsley, an executive of Kinsley Enterprises, and his brother, Timothy Kinsley, president of Kinsley Properties, while on a skiing trip in British Columbia,” the Kinsley family said on the company’s Facebook page.
“Our entire Kinsley family is still processing this heartbreaking news of their deaths and respectfully ask for privacy at this time.”
RCMP said the third person, a CMH guide, is in serious condition and has been transferred by ground to Kelowna General Hospital from Revelstoke.
The Revelstoke RCMP continue to assist the BC Coroners Service in the investigation.
The avalanche was near the Alkolkolex tenure southeast of Revelstoke near an area known as the ‘Chocolate Bunnies.’
RCMP said on Tuesday that a small group of people had been heliskiing in the area at the time of the avalanche.
Earlier in the day, around 2 p.m., in the Keefer Lake area near Cherryville, there was another avalanche.
Ambulance services drove one patient to the hospital, however, that patient’s condition is unknown at this time.
A non-profit organization dedicated to public avalanche safety has been warning British Columbians of “considerable” and “moderate” risks of avalanches for weeks.
Currently, it has a warning saying that it’s time for “conservative terrain choices.”
“Several concerning layers exist in the snowpack that are producing large human-triggered avalanches,” reads the alert.
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