Avalanche Incident
Avalanche IncidentFinal bodies retrieved from avalanche area
AP - January 09, 1998
NELSON, B.C. - Clear skies over the Kootenays on Thursday allowed search and rescue crews to retrieve the last two bodies from the site of a fatal avalanche in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Kaslo said about 50 members of the rescue team were flown to the avalanche site at dawn. By early afternoon, they had recovered the bodies of Mary Cowan and Lise Nicola.
The two Nelson women were part of a group of six backcountry skiers killed Jan. 2 in a huge snowslide on Woodbury Glacier.
The bodies of Patrick von Blumen, Dr. Robert Driscoll, Geoffrey Leidel and Scott Bradley were retrieved and flown out by helicopter Monday.
Searchers recover bodies from Canadian avalanches
Reuters - 08:44 p.m Jan 05, 1998 Eastern
By Jeffrey Jones
CALGARY, Alberta, Jan 5 (Reuters) - A search team in the snow-covered mountains of western Canada on Monday recovered some of the bodies of skiers killed in one of several avalanches this weekend before poor weather halted operations.
Three deadly avalanches triggered by cold weather and new snowfall roared down mountains in the South Columbia range of southeastern British Columbia on Friday and Saturday, burying back country skiers and snowmobilers.
Searchers on Monday retrieved the bodies of four skiers out of a group of six buried in fallen snow in Kokanee Glacier Park, north of Nelson, British Columbia, after poor weather had earlier stymied efforts, emergency officials said.
"The helicopter got into the avalanche site once," said Terry Jones, owner of Woodbury Resort, which operates a remote cabin that was used by the skiers. ``It has socked in again so they've given up for today.''
The bodies of five of the six people were first located on Saturday. A sixth skier was still missing but presumed dead.
The four that were recovered were identified as British Columbia residents George Patrick Von Blumen, 32, Geoffrey Leidal, 31, Robert Driscoll, 35, and Scott Bradley, 32.
Snowfall and strong winds were forecast to continue over the next few days, making search efforts difficult and increasing avalanche danger even more, said Evan Manners, manager of the Canadian Avalanche Centre in Revelstoke, British Columbia.
"It's certainly not going to make conditions any easier for the searchers out there," Manners said.
Bad weather halts avalanche search
Sunday January 4 6:57 PM EST
NELSON, British Columbia, Jan. 4 (UPI) Royal Canadian Mounted Police say bad weather has halted all search and rescue missions at avalanche sites in southeast British Columbia.
One person in still missing in the Kokanee Glacier region, some 280 miles (450 km) west of Vancouver, where a snow slide hit six skiers Friday, killing five.
Their bodies were spotted by helicopter Saturday, but could not be reached because of weather conditions.
Kaslo RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dave McCowan says search and rescue teams are on standby hoping for a break in the high winds and near-zero visibility.
McCowan says the skiers had been warned Thursday that avalanches threatened the area.
He also says avalanche conditions remain high.
Canada avalanche tragedy worst in recent history
Reuters - 04:20 p.m Jan 04, 1998 Eastern
By Jeffrey Jones
CALGARY, Alberta, Jan 4 (Reuters) - A series of avalanches in the mountains of western Canada which killed at least eight people at the weekend were the most deadly in recent memory, officials said on Sunday.
Avalanches triggered by cold weather and new snowfall roared down three mountains in southeastern British Columbia, burying backcountry skiers and snowmobilers. One skier was still missing on Sunday.
"We've never seen this many recreational skiers killed by avalanches in a single day," Evan Manners of the Canadian Avalanche Centre in Revelstoke, British Columbia said on Sunday. "It's not the worst thing that's ever happened in Canada, but in recent history, it's the worst recreational tragedy we've seen."
The danger of more avalanches in the South Columbia Mountains region of the Canadian Rockies remained high, he said.
Search and rescue teams found the bodies of five skiers buried in snow in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, north of Nelson, British Columbia, on Saturday.
A sixth person in the group, which was reported missing after failing to return to a remote cabin near Woodbury Glacier in the park, was still missing and rescuers were unable to get to the avalanche site on Sunday because of cold and snowy weather, Mounties said.
The victims' names were not released by police, but Canadian Press news agency reported that four doctors, two from Nelson, one from Vancouver and one from Deep Cove, British Columbia, were part of the group.
The confirmed deaths bring to 13 the number of people killed in avalanches in western Canada this winter.
An average of 10 people are killed each year in western Canadian avalanches, according to Canadian Avalanche Centre statistics.
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Comments = Canadian Press report-
KASLO, B.C. (CP) At least eight people died in three separate avalanches in southeastern British Columbia and an extreme avalanche warning was in effect throughout the Kootenays. Five skiers and three snowmobilers were reported dead Saturday and one skier was still missing.
Search and rescue officials recovered the bodies of five skiers Saturday and hope to resume searching for a sixth today in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, about 60 kilometres northeast of Nelson, B.C. said Rod Salem of the Provincial Emergency Program.
Terry Jones, owner of the Woodbury Resort which served as the rescue operation headquarters, said one of the victims was a Vancouver doctor. He said another of the victims was from Deep Cove on Vancouver's North Shore. Two Nelson doctors were also part of the group, but it's not known whether they survived or how many members were in the group.
The friends were spending the week skiing at Silver Spray Cabin near the Woodbury Glacier. The skiers, who had been taken by helicopter to the cabin, were reported missing Friday following an avalanche.
Depending on conditions, an attempt will likely be made to fly into the Woodbury Glacier area by helicopter today to continue that search, Salem said. "Our priority is for the safety of the persons going in," Salem said from his Kamloops office on Saturday. "I can't say for sure we will go in there tomorrow (Sunday). It depends on the weather and the conditions."
The Canadian Avalanche Association had issued an extreme avalanche warning for the area and Salem said slides were happening throughout the Kootenay region in southeastern B.C. all weekend.
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