CPG NEWS - Avalanche Hits Big Iron Shootout

Posted Mar 14/2010

RCMP and rescue workers near Revelstoke, B.C., are waiting for first light so they can continue to search for more survivors of an avalanche that left at least three people dead and an unknown number of others missing. The avalanche occurred on Boulder Mountain Saturday afternoon, where as many as 200 people were taking part in a snowmobile event called the Big Iron Shootout.

RCMP direct traffic at the staging area for avalanche search and rescue operations near Revelstoke on Saturday. (David Rooney/Revelstoke Current/CP) Two of the injured are in critical condition. Seven others suffered serious injuries and eight were lightly injured. Some of the minor injuries were caused by the force of cascading snow or from snowmobiles colliding, survivors told CBC News.

Kathy Berlingette, owner of Smokey Bear Campground Resort in the area, said the event was in a remote place and everyone involved had to use their snowmobiles to get there. She said the slide struck in an area known as Turbo Bowl. Officials estimate it was seven to nine metres deep. Hundreds of people from B.C., Alberta and Washington state were watching the snowmobiling event when the avalanche hit around 3:30 p.m. local time.

The mountain was shut down as search-and-rescue helicopters and avalanche dogs worked to recover the injured.

"I know that the RCMP are up there with a number of their members doing searches and that they've got dog units … and the local search and rescue group," Revelstoke Mayor David Raven said shortly after the tragedy occurred. "We also have the ski patrol from Revelstoke Mountain Resorts available and going up."

Rescuers were still scouring the mountain after darkness fell Saturday night. The search was then called off until daybreak Sunday.Searchers and dogs will run grid patterns, poking into deep snow with probes. One of the survivors said his snowmobile was carried up to 30 metres down the hill. When he finally came to a stop, he had slammed into another snowmobile. He described the helplessness survivors felt that some didn't make it out alive.

"I was at Tim Hortons for breakfast [Saturday] morning and talked to four guys, including one who didn't survive," he said. "We couldn't help him out. "Revelstoke Mayor David Raven said the Canadian Avalanche Centre started warning people three weeks ago to use "extreme caution" in the region. A fresh snowfall on Friday made the avalanche risk just that much higher, he added.

Adam Burke, a member of the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club, said he didn't take part in the Big Iron Shootout because the avalanche potential was too much for his liking. According to the Canadian Avalanche Centre, there have been 10 avalanches in the area since Friday, when the CAC issued an extreme avalanche warning for the area. It advised people to stay away from any defined avalanche terrain and steep slopes.

On Feb. 15, an Alberta man was killed in an avalanche while snowmobiling on Eagle Mountain near Revelstoke. Another Alberta man died in an avalanche while skiing near Rossland, B.C., in early January.

Revelstoke is approximately 300 kilometres west of Calgary, and about 400 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

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