One killed in avalanche near Revelstoke, warning extended

REVELSTOKE — An avalanche in British Columbia’s Interior has killed a snow biker near Revelstoke. Avalanche Canada says the fatal avalanche happened Sunday at Sale Mountain north of Revelstoke, when one of the riders in a group was caught in the slide.

The agency says those in the group and others nearby quickly pulled the man from the snow, but even as they were performing CPR, a second avalanche came and buried some snowmobiles. Revelstoke RCMP confirmed that a 58-year-old man from Alberta was taken to hospital by helicopter but died of his injuries.

Avalanche Canada says both slides were caused by snow sitting on weak layers formed in early February, which prompted the forecaster to extend its warning of danger through to Thursday.

The agency is urging backcountry users to make conservative terrain choices for vast swaths of B.C.’s southwestern and northwestern mountains and in Rocky Mountain regions extending into Alberta.

A number of avalanches were reported in the B.C. Interior over the weekend.

“Although the new snow is appealing, making conservative terrain choices will be an important strategy for all backcountry users over the next few days,” the forecaster says in its updated statement.

The warning area covers the coastal mountains from Whistler to Hope and Princeton, the North Coast area from Kitimat and Terrace to the region east of the Alaska Panhandle, and mountain ranges, including the Rockies, Chetwynd in the north and the Okanagan in the west to the U.S. border and into parts of Alberta.

The warning does not include Vancouver Island, where the avalanche risk was ranked as moderate for most areas at higher elevations.