Chetwynd Avalanch.

[Taz]

This is off the Prince George paper.

CHETWYND, B.C. - Deadly avalanches have struck British Columbia mountain country again, leaving one snowmobiler dead and another missing in separate snowslides.

In both cases, survivors had to make the agonizing decision to abandon their own rescue attempts to get help.

RCMP in Chetwynd, northeast of Prince George, say a group of 14 snowmobilers were hit by an avalanche in a remote mountainous area shortly after 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Const. Craig Douglass says two of three riders covered by tonnes of snow were able to free themselves, but the third person is believed to be dead.

"Two were dug out successfully without injury I believe, and the third was believed to be deceased by those that dug him out," he said.

"They had to leave the deceased behind and work their way back to their vehicles"

Attempts to retrieve the victim's body won't resume until Monday morning at the earliest.

About an hour before the Chetwynd avalanche, another rumbled down Mara Mountain near Enderby in the province's interior, leaving one of three snowmobilers missing.

Police were notified of an emergency beacon shortly after 1 p.m., said Vernon RCMP spokesman Gordon Molendyk.

My heart goes out to the families and freinds.

 

[SLEDBUNNYRACING]

Rest In Peace

Our thought and prayers are with the family and friends.

 

[Taz]

This is more info.

One snowmobiler is believed dead in an avalanche in the mountains between Prince George and Chetwynd. His name has not yet been disclosed, but he was part of a snowmobiling group that encountered the snow slide on Sunday afternoon. The 911 call came at 2:17 p.m. with Chetwynd RCMP the lead responders.
"All other snowmobilers in the group have been accounted for," said North District RCMP spokesman Const. Craig Douglass. "Due to the danger of further avalanches, no attempts to retrieve the deceased will be made until the avalanche technician has deemed the area safe."
That assessment work is expected to be done today but there is no promise that a recovery effort can go ahead immediately. It may be hours or it may be days before the area stabilizes.
"The others in the snowmobiling party dug the victim out and tried to revive him but they could not and it was not possible to transport him back to where their trucks were. They opted to go for help," Douglass told The Citizen.
The sledding group left Chetwynd and drove 30 kilometres west to Hazler Road which they took to access their backcountry destination. They went 45 kilometres south on Hazler Road and parked their trucks, then rode another 25 kilometres before the avalanche struck. The 911 caller went to a nearby Burlington Resources gas plant to place the call.
On Thursday the Canadian Avalanche Centre's weekend assessment for the North Rockies region (including Chetwynd, Mackenzie, Prince George, the Robson Valley and Grande Cache) was for backcountry enthusiasts to expect considerable avalanche danger.
"Storm snow, with wind and warming temperatures, continues to load a weak snowpack," the bulletin at Welcome to avalanche.ca said. "Special Message: Warming temperatures and additional storm snow will increase the likelihood of both natural and human triggered avalanches - be extremely cautious during periods of rising temperature and as storm snow continues to accumulate."
Police did not speculate on where the deceased snowmobiler was from, nor the group's origins. Further updates are expected in the hours ahead.

 

[teeroy]

the group was from the Spirit River/Rycroft area. very sad....my condolences to the family of the deceased.

 

[Scotford]

This is a very sad day for the village of Rycroft, he will be sadly missed, my heart felt condolenses... there were all father and sons from the Rycroft/Spirit River area...... very sad.....

 

[catmando]

Condolences to the family.
catmando!

 

[Summitric]

R.i.p. ..... Another one..... Sad, very sad. Condonlensces to family and friends...........

 

[Canuck 1]

My condonlences as well to family and friends.

 

[tmix]

thoughts and prayers to all family and friends involved in this time of loss.

 

[pipes]

my condolences to the family and friends

 

[fsjredneck]

We rode past the avalanch site earlier in the day and from previous knowledge knew to ride right on by. We heard about it at the end of the day when we got back to the trucks. We got word that everyone was out so we did,t venture back in to help but stuck around the parking lot to verify everyone got in. It sure was a quiet parking lot. We all have to remember to stay in the safe zones and try not ot aggrevate mother nature or she will kick the $h!t out of us. Thoughts and prayers from our group go out to the family.

 

[BLUE JEWEL]

Our Condolences to Family & Friends.....

R I P

 

[GRD]

Thought and prayers to family and friends.