Four ice climbers narrowly escape avalanche

Four ice climbers survived an avalanche Saturday afternoon on a west central Alberta mountain near Nordegg.

Just a little after noon, Mounties in Rocky Mountain House were notified of an emergency locator beacon signal coming from an area near the Kitty Hawk ice climbing route on Mount Elliot — a peak along Highway 11 about 50 kilometres southwest of Nordegg, and 250 kilometres northwest of Calgary.

Rocky Mountain House Search and Rescue’s mountain rescue team, along with local helicopters and STARS Air Ambulance, were dispatched to search for the mountaineers in an area RCMP spokesman Staff Sgt. John Spaans described as “remote.”

He said the four-person team managed to walk off the mountain to a nearby roadway, where they met emergency crews.

Treated at the scene by Nordegg EMS, one of the climbers was airlifted to hospital in Edmonton with nonlife-threatening injuries.

Warmer temperatures this weekend have increased avalanche risks across much of the province, as recent large snowpacks sit atop an unstable base.

Avalanche risks along the central portion of the Eastern Slopes are rated at moderate to considerable at sub-alpine altitudes, with conditions at and below the tree line rated as “dangerous.”

The Canadian Ice Climbing Encyclopedia describes the Kitty Hawk route as especially prone to avalanches, despite relatively low snowfall compared with other areas.

The website says the entire ice wall fell off the mountain midway during the 2009 and 2010 climbing seasons.