An avalanche claimed the life of a skier in southeastern B.C., RCMP said Tuesday.
Police said they received a report at around 10 p.m. Monday of two missing men who had been skiing in the mountains southeast of the town of Golden — located more than 260 kilometres west of Calgary — and were last heard from at 5:30 p.m.
The man had to leave his skiing companion at the location to ensure his own safe return. Search-and-rescue crews used a helicopter to retrieve his remains.
An incident report on the Avalanche Canada website says the first of two skiers triggered a Size 2 avalanche on Kapristo Mountain.
Avalanches are rated on a five-point scale by destructive potential, ranging from Size 1, which is relatively harmless, to Size 5, which could destroy a village. A Size 2 avalanche is big enough to bury, injure or kill a person.
“The avalanche funnelled into a confined gulley and ran 990 metres in length,” said the report.
Police say they are assisting the B.C. Coroners Service in an investigation.
