Canmore residents were involved in a hectic weekend that caused death and injury in separate avalanches in the B.C. backcountry.
The incidents shadowed a public awareness warning issued for the area from Avalanche Canada.
An avalanche was triggered near Esplanade Mountain west of Golden, B.C., Sunday (Feb. 21).
It was the second incident in the Golden backcountry area within 24 hours.
Police said a group of 13 skiers in a guided tour were struck by an avalanche that was between a “size 2 and size 3.”
Doug Churchill, 64, of Canmore remains at Calgary Foothills hospital as of Tuesday (Feb. 23).
Golden-Field RCMP Cst. Spencer Lainchbury said he is in “critical condition,” in a release Monday (Feb. 22).
Churchill was airlifted to Calgary by STARS ambulance with serious injuries.
Seven from the group were taken to hospital, including a 58-year-old Calgary woman airlifted to Kamloops hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
Two Canmore women, 62 and 53, were treated for injuries in Golden along with a 59-year-old woman from West Vancouver and a 34-year-old man from Golden.
Golden and District Search and Rescue (GADSAR) flew into the area by helicopter to transport the patients back to the Golden hospital.
On Saturday, a deadly avalanche struck a group of four snowmobilers just after noon.
A 30-year-old Calgary man was killed in Quartz Creek, a popular snowmobile area, about 40 kilometres northwest of Golden.
Golden-Field RCMP said a size three avalanche had been triggered.
Police responded to two people buried by avalanche debris after they received notification that an emergency GPS spot beacon had been activated in the popular snowmobiling area.
A 40-year-old man from Winnipeg was seriously hurt in the incident, but has since been released from a local hospital.
Two other males from Calgary were uninjured.
A special public awareness warning was issued for the B.C.’s central and southern interior ranges for Friday (Feb. 19) to Monday (Feb. 22), by Avalanche Canada.
The warning applied to both areas affected by avalanches.
Those going into the backcountry with no alpine training should seek some, said Karl Klassen, public warning service manager for Avalanche Canada.
Information to find training courses can be found at avalanche.ca under the “learn” tab.
“Getting training from a professional before going into the backcountry is essential,” he said.
RCMP and emergency crews would like to remind backcountry enthusiasts to check current avalanche conditions through Avalanche Canada’s website.
