Father and son snowmobilers from Calgary die in B.C. avalanche
Friends and family are mourning the loss of a Calgary man and his son who died after an avalanche near the resort town of Invermere, B.C., over the weekend.
“Larry and Matt Burdiga were tragically lost in an avalanche accident ... doing what they love most, sledding,” reads a GoFundMe set up to help support the family.
Avalanche Canada said that a group of snowmobilers were on the southeast side of Mount Brewer in the Purcell Mountains on Saturday when an avalanche was triggered.
Mounties noted that the group of nine, visiting the area from Calgary, were caught in an avalanche that was triggered while one of the snowmobilers was “high marking ” — an activity in which a snowmobile operator tries to ride as far as possible up a steep slope.
Two of the snowmobilers were “caught in a very large” 200- to 400-metre-wide slab of snow, which moved nearly a kilometre down the mountain before coming to a small lake.
The body of Larry Burdiga, 51, was recovered two metres below the snow by members of the Columbia Valley RCMP and a local search and rescue team.
Columbia Valley Search and Rescue located the body of his son Matt, 24, early on Monday but RCMP said his body could not be recovered until later that day when RCMP Underwater Recovery Divers were able to enter the water.
“The world has lost two of the brightest lights,” the GoFundMe post stated.
Brittney Bradish, who attended junior high and high school with Matt, said she’ll remember him fondly.
“Him and his dad would always be on the mountains or on the lake, boating and stuff, and they just had the biggest hearts of genuine guys, family men,” she said. “Matt loved his brother.”
She remembered hanging out with Matt and his big group of friends “who were always together” after school and in the summertime. Matt enjoyed snowboarding and wakesurfing, she said.
“He just loved being outdoors. He’d always be outside,” she said. Of the accident, she added: “You kind of just don’t believe it. You don’t feel like that’s your friend that got caught in an avalanche.”
Naila Delgado, who taught Matt in Grade 7 when he attended Mid-Sun School more than a decade ago, called him one “of the kindest kids I taught.”
“Matt was a sweet kid when he was young and as he got older ... I’d see his posts about shredding on his sled,” his former teacher said. “I understood his lifestyle because mine has been similar. I always was stoked he was so happy riding his snow machine.”
Delgado recalled Matt and his best friend buying her a Los Angeles Dodgers hat for her birthday in 2008, about four months before she happened to move to California.
“It’s always meant so much to me that these two seventh graders would do something so thoughtful for someone they barely knew,” she said.
“I never forgot it. I still have the hat and now with Matt’s passing it means so much more ... It’s truly meaningful for me, what they did way back when.”
Regarding the accident, a signal from an avalanche beacon had been recorded “on the lake where debris is floating on the water,” Avalanche Canada said earlier in the day, noting Larry was able to activate his emergency avalanche airbag.
The B.C. Coroners Service is investigating the deaths of both men.
On Wednesday, Parks Canada issued an avalanche bulletin for parts of B.C. near the Alberta border, including Kootenay National Park which is about 17 kilometres north of Invermere.
As of Monday, the avalanche danger in the Purcell Mountains was rated at high in the upper alpine region and considered considerable at the tree line.
Anyone heading into the backcountry was advised to carry the proper safety equipment. Avalanche Canada recommends packing avalanche transceivers, an airbag, a shovel and an emergency radio before heading into avalanche territory.
Daily avalanche condition updates are available on the Parks Canada website. For more information on avalanche safety visit www.avalanche.ca.